Express Travelworld (Vol.12, No.7) August, 2017

EDITOR’S NOTE

Taxing times

I

t's been a month, but the impact of the GST within the travel and tourism industry is still being decoded and deciphered by stakeholders. The entire process of gaining clarity on the subject has been rather taxing, especially for the SMEs in the trade. There is a certain concern expressed by members of the fraternity as they feel the exercise is detrimental to business. The hospitality industry too has expressed concern.

According to HRAWI, the MICE business has been impacted. However, as diverse options on GST prevails, we have received feedback from major travel industry players that consumer travel patterns have not been affected by the GST. Sungita Sharma, principal commissioner, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is representing tourism and travel industry to the GST council. Sharma informs that 18 electoral groups have been appointed to give an in depth approach for the industry. The committee is to create an impact analysis for all segments and flag it to the GST Council. Please

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“The entire process of gaining clarity on the subject has been rather taxing,especially for the SMEs in the trade.They feel the exercise is detrimental to business”

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refer to Pg 12 of this issue for more details.

Though the pressure of GST seems a bit of a challenge for businesses, there has been a lot of action on the sidelines within the trade. From road shows by NTOs to state boards and associations announcing their conventions, the coming months promise to have a lot of action.

September has a lot on offer in terms of conventions by trade associations. From the IATO Convention in Bhubaneswar to IAAI Conclave in Kerala and the ATOAI convention again in Kerala, there is lot to learn and unlearn at these events. Further on, the Tamil Nadu Travel Mart is scheduled to be held in October 2017, while during the same month, Odisha Tourism is also scheduled to conduct its Travel Mart.

The cover story this issue speaks about the world of luxury but tackled and addressed in a different light. We list some of India’s bespoke luxury experiences which travel agents can package for the discerning Indian world traveller.

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REEMA LOKESH Editor editorial.etw@expressindia.com

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CONTENTS MANAGEMENT Vol 12 No 7 August 2017 Pages 40

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Chairman of the Board

Viveck Goenka Sr Vice President - BPD

Neil Viegas Editor

Reema Lokesh* Assistant Editor

ANCILLARY SERVICES AND THE TRAVEL AGENT: THE OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD This paper by Amadeus, aimed at traditional travel agencies, highlights the business benefits that come from the seamless booking of additional flightrelated services (also called ‘ancillary services’)

Steena Joy Sr. Associate Editor

Sudipta Dev CONTENT TEAM New Delhi

Saloni Bhatia DESIGN National Design Editor

EDGE

Bivash Barua Assistant Art Director

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Pravin Temble Senior Artists

Ratilal Ladani, Rajesh Jadhav SCHEDULING & COORDINATION

Ashish Anchan Photo Editor

Sandeep Patil

INTERVIEW Mathhew Moraguez and George C Lordos of MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and member of the Strategic Engineering Research Group explain the design concept of their space hotel project

MARKETING Regional Heads

Harit Mohanty - East & West Prabhas Jha - North Marketing Team

Debnarayan Dutta Ajanta Sengupta Mathen Mathew CIRCULATION

As India celebrates her 71st Independence Day, Express TravelWorld explores some of her unique bespoke luxury experiences that have great potential to attract the world traveller

Mohan Varadakar

LIFE

(22-25) 34

PRODUCTION General Manager

MARKETS

B R Tipnis Manager

Bhadresh Valia Express TravelWorld® POSTAL REGD. NO. MCS/163/2016 – 18 RNI Reg. No.MAHENG/2005/15993

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PAYTM'S BIG CUSTOMER BASE DRIVING TRAVEL BUSINESS

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Printed by The Indian Express (P) Ltd. and published by Ms Vaidehi Thakar on

WAI INDIA CHAPTER AND PILOT SHAESTAWAIZ INSPIRE INDIAN WOMEN THROUGH STEM

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behalf of The Indian Express Press, Plot No. EL-208, TTC Industrial Area, Mahape, Navi Mumbai - 400710 and Published from Express Towers, 2nd Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400021.

(Editorial & Administrative Offices:

P03 : EDITOR’S NOTE P35 : MOVEMENTS

Express Towers, 1st Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai – 400021)

P36 : WEEKEND

THE POWER OF CONNECTED AIRCRAFT KAYAKING FOR A CAUSE Clean Rivers Initiative (CRI) promotes the usage of our rivers for recreation and creates a connection to the river with youngsters and tourists. The forthcoming Chaliyar River Challenge 2017 is the third annual event to help raise both awareness and funding to clean up rivers in the country

Copyright © 2017 The Indian Express (P) Limited. All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited. *Responsible for selection of news under PRB Act

IN THE NEWS

Paytm's big customer base driving travel business Sudipta Dev Mumbai THE MASSIVE customer base of Paytm has been a significant factor in driving the rapid growth the company has witnessed in its travel business. Paytm has three categories in its travel vertical - flights, buses, trains.

Buses is the oldest category and when it was launched the company was testing waters regarding the travel vertical, but within six months it became the number two in the country for bus ticket bookings. The success enabled the company to look at other segments like flights and trains.

“Last year around June -July we had launched flights, and

in October we launched trains. We have seen phenomenal growth in both flights and trains. Already we are among the top three in terms of the number of tickets that we sell,” said Abhishek Rajan, head of Paytm Travel.

For both flight and trains the first six months has witnessed 100 per cent growth month-on-month. “Now that we have a very high base, the growth is not 100 per cent but very high and we hope in the next 12 months, we should be at least three-four times of our current numbers,” remarked Rajan.

Acknowledging that the large loyal base of customers has attributed to the growth,

Abhishek Rajan

Rajan stated, “Train was a surprise for us - we never expected it to become a big category. I am happy to say that

today we are IRCTC's largest partner, in terms of the tickets we sell. We sell more tickets than any of their onlineoffline partners.”

He mentioned that the business has been growing organically, despite the fact that they have not given any incentive / cashback to customers. A large part of the growth, he believes is due to the fact that customers find it more convenient to book train tickets on Paytm than the other available options.

For now the company is looking at strengthening its core categories of flights, buses and trains, before looking at hotels, holiday packages, car rentals, and ancillary segments like travel

insurance. “In the next nine months we want to increase our numbers by 3X or 4X. This year we will focus a lot on product experience as this is a great form of marketing if you can enhance customer experience their chances of coming back to you is very high,” stated Rajan, adding that at this point of time, the company is not looking at any acquisition in travel space, but it is not ruled out in the future.

Paytm's travel business is based out of Bengaluru, primarily for two reasons, buses was the first category launched which is predominantly popular in south market; secondly to tap into the tech pool in the city.

'IAAI IS ALLSETTO LAUNCH I-TOP (INDIAN TRAVEL-AGENTS OWN PORTAL),ANEWREVENUE MODEL' The IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI) will be organising its Annual Convention - ICON 2017 - this September in Kochi. Biji Eapen, president, IAAI speaks to Steena Joy on the convention theme and the topics of discussion When and where is the convention being held?

The IAAI National Convention - ICON 2017 will be held as a three nights/four days’ event from September 14 to 17 at the picturesque Cherai Beach located just 25 km from Kochi city.

What is the main theme of the convention?

The Theme for the Convention is - “Travel Agents by 2030 – Protocols Redefined”.

What are the issues that will be discussed?

As travel agents are just coming to grips with the newly implemented GST, it will form one of the prime issues for discussion since airline commission is going to be crucial for their survival.

The additional BSP charge of US$ 30 per month imposed

by IATA since April 2017 has come at a time when airlines are still denying commission to their own appointed travel

agents. As implied by the ICON 2017 theme, IAAI is all set to launch i-Top (Indian Travel-Agents Own Portal), a new revenue model that would safeguard the interests of its members from all the present challenging market conditions.

Biji Eapen

How many IAAI members are expected to attend?

Around 400 members are expected to participate.

How do you think GST will impact the tour operators in India?

The tariff-based GST slabs that have been imposed on hotels is going to increase the accommodation costs which will have a domino effect on tour costs that could deter many a tourist. It can be said that the reduction of the erstwhile nine per cent Service Tax to five per cent under GST on tour packages will be the silver lining in the cloud.

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IN THE NEWS

WAI India Chapter and pilot ShaestaWaiz inspire Indian women through STEM ETW Staff Mumbai WOMEN in Aviation International (India Chapter) witnessed the journey of pilot ShaestaWaiz to promote STEM curriculum in India and to encourage the next generation to take aviation as a preferred career. The gathering was addressed by Radha Bhatia, president, WAI India Chapter; Noopurr R Chablani, secretary, WAI India Chapter along with Kiranjeet Jain, commercial director Air Asia India.

ShaestaWaiz became an inspiration for women around the world when she started Dreams Soar, that aimed to let women feel liberated to achieve their

dreams regardless of the challenges and traditions they face.

Dream Soar is a registered nonprofit organisation in United States which was inaugurated in 2016. This initiative has been taken to embrace the solution for motivating and empowering women to pursue careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

Shaesta addressed the gathering consisting of NCC cadets and motivated them to pursue their dreams. She talked about her journey from a refugee camp till a cockpit and encouraged girls to aim for the skies.

Waiz said, "My time in India has been very inspiring. Being greeted by the WAI India Chapter, the youth, leaders and

professionals from the aviation industry, I feel very humbled and honoured. I am excited to return soon, and do more positive work for STEM and aviation here in India. Thank you for this warm welcome to your beautiful country."

Bhatia serves as the chairperson of Bird Group, a diversified travel conglomerate which specialises in aviation and hospitality. She is also the force behind The Bird Academy, an IATA and DGCA approved travel and aviation institute formed in 1998.

Since its inception the institute creates a pool of talent for aviation and travel industry and has enlarged its activities and offered more than 20,000 trained professionals who are employed

in India and abroad.

Bhatia commented, "Through Dreams Soar and WAI India chapter, we want to reach out to more and more girls and encourge them to pursue

aviation as a career with our slogan - 'Beti ki udaan Desh ka swabhman', we want to spread our idea with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message to support the girl child."

Air Canada positive on business from India Mohit Rathod Mumbai AIR CANADA is bullish on driving growth from the India market through its newly commenced Mumbai-Toronto direct flight – the only non-stop service on this route. The flag carrier of Canada, which had earlier launched its Delhi-Vancouver seasonal flight, expects to clock 16.3 billion revenue in 2017 and aims to achieve 20 billion revenue mark by 2020. At a media interaction in Mumbai today, Duncan Bureau, vice president – global sales, Air Canada, said, “We are one of the fastest growing airline in the world. The response to our Mumbai-Toronto flight has been good and we have witnessed a good amount of advance bookings. We are confident of our growth in the India market and we have received

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good support from the business fraternity here.”

The Mumbai-Toronto service operates four times a week, on the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. With this development, Air Canada now offers

three Boeing 787 Dreamliner routes between th two countries. The airline additionally operates a year-round daily Delhi-Toronto flight. Its seasonal Delhi-Vancouver flight will resume in October.

“We are committed to the India market and we are constantly looking to further expand our presence in the country. In line with that, we are also in discussions with several airports. Our promotional

strategy in India includes partnerships and the GSAs. We have been been witnessing good business from our associates here,” added Bureau.

Visitor footfall from India to Canada has seen a growth of 16 per cent last year, of which a significant proportion includes students and families. Shedding more light on tourism and trade areas, Nadir Patel, high commissioner, High Commission of Canada in Delhi, said, “This is a significant year for bilateral relations between India and Canada and the launch of this flight is an important part of that. There has also been increase in Canadian visa applications in India last year.”

In order to grow its overall business, Air Canada is leveraging upon its non-stop services and its positioning as North America’s sole four-star carrier.

IN THE NEWS

Oman Air to promote Europe connections in India market Saloni Bhatia New Delhi

The power of Connected Aircraft Sudipta Dev Mumbai HONEYWELL’S B757 test aircraft was in Mumbai recently on The Power of Connected World Tour, to showcase the best in class ‘connected capabilities’ to the India market. The Connected Aircraft that started its journey from San Francisco International Airport on May 31, flew to many world cities including Washington, New York, Toronto, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Moscow, Paris

and Dubai, before reaching Mumbai on July 3, 2017. While the benefits of the Connected Aircraft range from fleet management to flight operations to passenger experience to ground operations, the highlight of the show was in-flight high speed Wi-Fi experience – GX Aviation powered by JetWave even enabled live streaming of Netflix movie.

The other technologies in the Connected Aircraft are – Connected Radar, GoDirect Maintenance, Cockpit Communication Systems, GoDirect Fuel Efficiency, GoDirect Flight

The Connected Aircraft from San Francisco International Airport flew to many world cities like Washington, New York, Toronto, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Moscow, Paris, Dubai and Mumbai

Bag Pro, GoDirect Toolkit & GoDirect Network, GoDirect Flight Preview, Aspire 300, GoDirect Weather, GoDirect Ground Handling.

Along with the international flight crew, on board was Neelu Khatri, president, Aerospace, Honeywell India and Sasi (Sunny) Kancharla, customer business leader – Middle East and India, Honeywell Aerospace. “Honeywell is in avionics, propulsion, engines, satcom technology, it is natural for us to be in connected space. This is a model aircraft to show our technologies,” said Kharti.

Pointing out that this is the first time the Connected Aircraft has come to India Kancharla stated, “We see a great potential in the India market, which has budget airlines but the passenger is high tech.” He informed that many of the new technologies by Honeywell are being deployed in the new Neo planes by Indigo, while Air India is using the Weather Radar technology.

IN MAY 2017, Oman Air launched a new daily flight from Muscat to Manchester.

The new daily service is operated by an Airbus 330-200 and is the airline’s second flight connection to the UK following the current double daily service between London Heathrow and Muscat. The new flight adds to the airline's expansion plans to Europe which stands as an important market. Addressing the media, Paul Gregorowitsch, chief executive office, Oman Air, stated, “With our new destinations in Europe we are looking to promote Oman as connecting destination for the India market. India's growing tourism numbers, English speaking population and growing economy showcase potential of growth and it stands as a key market for us.”

This year onwards Delhi, Calicut and Hyderabad have 21 weekly flights each, and Lucknow operates 14 weekly flights. Starting August 1, 2017, Oman Air will introduce a third daily flight from Mumbai to Muscat, which will increase the weekly capacity from 154 to 161 flights. Oman Air flies to 11 destinations in India including Goa, Mumbai, Chennai, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, Delhi, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Kozhikode and Jaipur. Gregorowitsch informed, “We will be adding 1821 additional seats for the winter months taking the total count to 27,405. Mumbai and Hyderabad will see 53 per cent and eight per cent

growth in seats respectively.”

Over the past year Oman has seen an average rate of close to 80 per cent in seat occupancy and has increased their seat capacity. The airline had 5,067 additional seats last year and with the new addition it has reached closer to 28,000 seats which is the total limit allowed by the Indian government. Looking ahead of India's growth potential, Gregorowitsch opined, “We are hopeful that the government will go ahead with their open sky policy for countries within 5,000 km by 2020. This shall help in better movement and economic growth between the two countries.”

Oman Air earlier planned to operate 70 aircraft by 2020 which would have been flying to 75 destinations, but due to slow economic growth, it has been shifted to the year 2023, added Gregorowitsch.

Bhanu Mohan Kaila, country manager – India, Oman Air, further added, “The winter season shows full utilisation of 27,405 seats.

We already have excellent connectivity out of major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mysuru which shall further add to the Europe traffic. Many of the major tour operators are working with us on the Europe connections as we have excellent service. On the tourism front, Oman is a very unique and unexplored destination which is of huge interest to the Indian traveller. We have already seen a great demand for the wedding segment from the India market.”

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IN THE NEWS

'IT’S THE FIRSTFIFAWORLD CUPTHATINDIAIS HOSTING' FIFA U-17 World Cup being held in October 2017 across six Indian cities is the first FIFA tournament which India is hosting and participating in. Joy Bhattacharjya, project director at LOC, FIFA U-17 World Cup highlights the significance of the event in terms of sports tourism

By Sudipta Dev Why is hosting of FIFA U-17 such an important event in India's sporting history ?

I see most of the media houses emphasising on the fact that it’s the first FIFA World Cup that India is hosting. However, that’s not the sole reason why the tournament is immensely important for us. Everyone must note that it is not only the first ever FIFA tournament to be hosted in India, it is also the first ever FIFA tournament in which an Indian team will participate. That’s what makes everything about it truly historic for us.

What is the significance of the event in terms of sports tourism ?

Any tournament of such a large scale brings with it its own set of tourists who love to explore the host country, apart from rooting for their team religiously from the stands. And the fact fans from some of the teams participating in this tournament (like Germany, England, Brazil, Japan and Mexico) traditionally travel with the team, augurs well for Indian tourism. The diverse lands of India have anyway long been a subject of fascination for tourists from every part of the world.

So, considering all that, this event is significant in terms of sports tourism.

Are you expecting

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Joy Bhattacharjya

die-hard Indian FIFA fans to do the whole circuit of the cities where the matches are being held ?

Why not? The game has seen a surge in popularity over the last few years and has developed its own devoted fan base. We think there will be many who will try and savor the experience in as many stadiums as the schedule will permit. Each one of our venues has its own unique appeal. The diversity of the venues, from Delhi in North to Kochi in South and Goa in West to Kolkata in South makes this an amazing opportunity for a traveller to traverse across the length and breadth of the country while enjoying the beautiful game too.

Which cities will see the largest congregation of fans ?

Obviously, the plan and the hope is to get high footfalls at every venue. But I can foresee two venues getting a lot of traffic. Kolkata being the venue of the finals will surely attract a lot of Indian as well as international fans. Also, Kochi, which hosts Brazil and Spain and also is a tourist hub may be very appealing to Indian and international fans. But again, no one can rule out the charm of cities like Delhi, Goa and Mumbai either.

What will be the contribution of the event in developing the sports / sporting talent in India ?

This is a huge legacy not just for Indian football but sport in India in general. I will reiterate that this will be the first-time football lovers across the country will be seeing an Indian team participate in a Football World Cup and that’s been on the country’s collective wish list for a long time.

So, you can just imagine the impact that such an event will leave behind on the minds of a billion people and millions of kids. We are taking this forward with the Mission XI Million project which will reach 11 million children across 15,000 schools around the country and excite them about playing football. This could be an inflexion point in Indian sport.

TAAI-SATpartner to train frontline staff Sudipta Dev Mumbai THE SEVENTH module of South African Tourism's Learn South Africa training programme organised across 17 cities in India with Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), saw a focused strategy to train a large number of frontline staff about the destination.

“We have planned to take the training to 1500-1800 frontline staff across the country. The intent is to enhance the skills of travel agents to sell and market a product to clients and tourists. This is a booster and knowledge development initiative that will enhance the skills of the frontline staff,” said Jay Bhatia, honorary national treasurer, TAAI. Sampat Damani, chairman, Western Region, TAAI added, “We are in the process of educating travel agents, which is the biggest asset of TAAI membership.”

In 2016, the number of Indian tourist arrivals to South Africa was 95,377, an increase of 21 .7 per cent over the previous year. The over-all spend from the Indian market (excluding

flights, attractions, hotels booked in advance) also crossed the high figure of 1.2 billion Zar last year. “Indians buy more activities than any other nationality. It is doing job creation in South Africa. Working with TAAI it is important to ensure that along with more jobs created in South Africa, it is also profitable for the Indian market,” said Hanneli Slabber, country manager India, South African Tourism, adding that this year they are looking at one lakh Indian tourists.

Pointing out that Indian visitors buy five-six activities every day, Slabber mentioned that the duration of these activities are being shortened exclusively for them. They can consequently enjoy maximum number of activities in a day. The interesting fact is that adventure travel segment is being driven by Indian women. From bungee jumping to shark cage diving, it is Indian women who are taking the lead in participating in these activities.

“We are incredibly happy about the performance of the Indian market.

It is our effort to give the best package at the best rate,” stated Slabber.

IN THE NEWS

'CANADIAN INVESTORS ARE SHOWING REALCONFIDENCE IN INDIA' In 2017, Canada celebrates an important national milestone – 150 years of the Confederation.

Jordan Reeves, consul general of Canada in Mumbai speaks about India-Canada trade ties and how the newly launched Air Canada first direct flight between Mumbai and Toronto means more tourist numbers for both the countries

By Steena Joy Canada celebrates 150 years of founding this year. How has the journey been and what does this mean for India?

This was a special birthday as Canada celebrated 150 years of its founding. It has been special for a couple of reasons because we are celebrating Canada's diversity – it has always been a country of immigrants. More than half of our population have been born outside of Canada. We are a rich multicultural country. Diversity is our strength.

As being consul general in Mumbai, here in this city is special because Indians have played an important role in Canada's development. Our largest ethnic communities are the Punjabi and Gujarati migrants. Nearly 1.3 million of our residents come from Indian ethnic origins. They are a very creative and vibrant community in Canada.

In the past year nearly four cabinet ministers from Canada visited India and three were of Indian origin – Minister Charger, Minister Sohi and Minister Sajjan.

In the last few years tourist arrivals have shown double digit growth. Young Indians are going to Canadian colleges and universities.

Around 48,000 Indian students went to Canada in 2015 a 70 per cent increase and this year we expect a 100 per cent increase.

GST. We are unanimous that GST is a welcome reform. We see a lot of advantages in it. It can help businesses become more efficient and streamline processes.

Air Canada's new direct flight from Mumbai to Toronto can drive tourist numbers. Comments.

We are really happy about the direct Air Canada Mumbai Toronto flight, four times a week. There is demand and a lot of enthusiasm. This is an opportunity to promote travel packages to Canada and we are positioned to further increase the tourist numbers, especially VFR and business travellers.

Jordan Reeves

What about India-Canada trade ties?

Canada is open to trade and believes in the virtues of free trade. We are happy to see that there has been a thirty per cent increase in trade exports. Canadian investors are showing real confidence in India. In private equity, Canada's leading investors are showing strong bullishness on India.

This year Canada enjoyed the limelight. We participated in many events. We were the partner country at FICCI Frames held in March in Mumbai which showcased Canada. We are also attending the International Film Festival (IFF) in Goa this November. Then there is the Audio Visual Co-production Agreement between India and Canada. We want to promote this agreement, we

In November there will be an innovation focused trade mission from Canada to India. India is the home of startups and Canada too has a vibrant startup community.

Canada's Start-up Visa Program targets immigrant entrepreneurs would love to see more co-production of films between the two countries.

Nearly 400 Canadian companies are doing business with India, both big companies to small. The numbers have gone up by 20 or 30 at least. We support PM Modi's Make in India vision.

Canadian company, Bombardier has a facility in

Vadodara. McCain Foods, another Canadian company, has been in India for many years now. It supports nearly 1,500 farmer families on contract farming. Canadian insurance company Sun Life is also in India.

What are your insights on India's new tax regime?

Canada is familiar with

Any more trade missions to India in the coming months?

In November there will be an innovation focused trade mission to India. India is the home of startups and Canada too has a vibrant startup community.

Canada's Start-up Visa Program targets immigrant entrepreneurs with the skills and potential to build businesses in Canada.

Toronto-based Ryerson University has already set up Zone Start-Ups in Mumbai, an accelerator for entrepreneurs jointly with the BSE (earlier known as the Bombay Stock Exchange). We also have the Empower programme for women entrepreneurs.

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IN THE NEWS

Make India a year-round destination to attract investments: Rashmi Verma Saloni Bhatia New Delhi LAST YEAR’S Incredible India Tourism Investor’s Summit highlighted various state’s new tourism policies and infrastructural needs of the tourism sector. However, no evident projects have come up despite relaxation in reforms and policies. Speaking at the recent FICCI Tourism Investor’s Summit, Rashmi Verma, secretary, ministry of tourism, stated, “Investment is the need of the hour as tourism is the largest emerging sector globally. We have not been able to provide basic amenities and world class infrastructure is missing from the states. But the introduction of new policies for development of coastal areas and better air connectivity opens many doors of opportunities.”

She suggested there’s a need to make India a yearround destination in order to attract investments. “Hotels fear investing in new places as they suffer from a lean period during off seasons. Therefore if we focus on creating India as a year-round destination, investors will have numerous reasons to make necessary developments. The ministry has also moved a cabinet note recommending reduction of infrastructure threshold to INR 50 crore,” Verma added.

Asserting the fact that every state has abundance of products to offer, she mentioned, “The main action lies within the state due to the presence of landbanks. With the right tourism policy and 100 per cent foreign direct investment approved by the centre, every state should be able to to attract new projects.”

The government has been playing a proactive role in

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promoting India. The new campaigns will see a gateshift in strategy as more weight age will be given to social media apart from video advertisements, she added.

In another address at the summit, Satpal Maharaj, tourism minister, government of Uttarakhand announced that the government plans to develop the state as a winter destination. The proposed plan involves development of ski resorts, activities like rafting, bunjee jumping and other adventure services at some new destinations. Maharaj stated that the government will also develop religious circuits like Vaishnav, Devdas, Nagraj for spiritual tourism apart from highlighting the wellness and natural spots. He said, “Tapovan with its natu-

The main action lies within the state due to the presence of landbanks.With the right tourism policy and 100 per cent foreign direct investment, every state should be able to to attract new projects ral hot springs can be an ideal wellness destination while Chopta can offer caravan parking for adventure seekers. We will also promote culinary tourism through specialised tours and village stays.”

The new tourism policy for Uttarakhand will be introduced by the end of next

month as per Dr R Meenakshi Sundaram, secretary tourism, Uttarakhand who was also present at the summit. Speaking about the latest development Sundaram mentioned that the government has identified 100 acre land around Tehri Dam to offer for hotels, water activities and other services.

The government is already in

talks with other departments to offer new landbanks for investments and hopes that Pithorgarh will be part of the second round of bidding under the UDAN scheme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation to enhance connectivity.

Commenting on developing Uttarakhand as winter destination, Sundaram stated, “We are looking for private investors to upgrade the ski resort at Auli and will also offer new winter destinations like Dayara Bugyal and Betuli Dhar to the investors under our new policy.” Maharaj mentioned that the state had already received more than 17 lac tourists and is hopeful that the new tourism policy will give Uttarakhand the needed infrastructural growth to accommodate more tourists.

IN THE NEWS

Nepal looks at India travel agents to push tourism numbers

Thomas Cook India allows independent management of acquired DM specialists

ETW Staff New Delhi

Mohit Rathod Mumbai

THE EMBASSY of Nepal along with the tourism board recently hosted a special event at Taj Mansingh Hotel in New Delhi in order to reconnect with travel agents to give the destination a tourism boost.

The event witnessed support of all the associations as it also celebrated the 70th year of diplomatic relations between India and Nepal. Nepal has always been one of the first outbound destinations for India and the destination is now looking at other areas to offer the India market. Addressing the audience, K B Rajan, former Indian ambassador to Nepal, stated, “Strong media campaigns can appeal the young

demographic to pick Nepal as their holiday destination. With better connectivity to the tourist spots, Nepal should promote its local cultural experiences.”

Representing the adventure tour operators of India, Swadesh Kumar, president, Adventure Tour Operators' Association of India (ATOAI), said that Nepal already has experience in the field of adventure tourism. “Apart from just promoting both the destinations, there can also be exchange of manpower during off seasons which can add to skills of the sector. As India is a big source market for MICE travellers, Nepal can work on tapping the opportunity since it also enjoys close proximity to our country,” he added.

Subash Goyal, former president, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) told the present agents to promote the local spots and culture apart from the main tourist places.

President of Nepal Travel Agents Association said how India has always been an important market for the country.

He emphasised on the adventure offerings of Nepal, saying that adventure seekers can visit the place for white water rafting, bunjee jumping, mountain biking, canyoning, zip flying among many others.

Looking at the importance of tourism, Bharat Kumar Regmi, minister/deputy chief of Mission, Embassy of Nepal, New Delhi stated that Nepal can't find a better source market than India.

Tourism Fiji holds annual roadshow in 6 cities ETW Staff Mumbai TOURISM FIJI conducted its Annual India Roadshow from July 24 to August 1, 2017 across six cities of India. The roadshow saw participation from 10 Fijian partners including, Tourism Fiji, Fiji Airways, Rosie Holidays (inbound operator), Tour Managers (inbound operator), Ahura Resorts (property), Grand Pacific Hotel (property), Namale Resort and Spa (property), Nanuku Auberge (property), Raffe Hotels (property), The Pearl South Pacific (property). Showcasing Fiji’s offerings in the cities of Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Bengaluru the tourism board saw a positive response for the event in each city. Over 550 agents attended the roadshow across all six cities and hailed it a success for the delegation.

THOMAS COOK India, which recently completed the acquisition of Kuoni's global network of destination management specialists, will allow the management of the acquired companies to operate on their own. Under the acquisition, Thomas Cook India through its wholly owned subsidiaries acquired companies across 17 countries across the geographies of the Americas, Africa, Middle East, Asia and Australia.

The global acquisition is said to transform Thomas Cook India into a globally integrated travel services provider with the ability to leverage synergies across its global travel portfolio. The agreement includes premium brands including, Asian Trails, Desert Adventures Tourism, Gulf Dunes, Private Safaris (East and South), Allied Tpro as well as Australian Tours Management across the countries – USA, Canada, South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Oman, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia and Australia.

Madhavan Menon, chairman and managing director, Thomas Cook India, said, "From financial point of view, it has come at a very attractive valuation, which is something that we like. The Fairfax philosophy essentially involves the management of the companies that you acquire to op-

erate on their own. We will not change this policy. We allow the local management of these companies to run their businesses as they see fair, and we will support them and help them in making decisions that, we believe, will help the business."

"There has to be shareholder-subsidiary relationship and that will continue, and we will manage within that. These companies will either have a board with independent directors or an executive board, which we will also participate in.

There will be active interactions between us, but it will be limited to providing support," he added.

The development has increased Thomas Cook India's footprint to cover 21 countries. The group, prior to this acquisition, had a network spanning four countries – India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Hong Kong.

"The acquisition also allows us to diversify and create synergy benefits, from both inbound and outbound businesses. We are here for the long term; these are not companies that we will sell, so it is in our long term interest to build profitability of each of these companies.

Thomas Cook India, as an Indian company, has now grown internationally and we recognise that India is becoming more and more prominent on the global stage, more Indian companies are growing overseas, therefore we see this as an opportunity."

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IN THE NEWS

Consumer travel unaffected by GST; hospitality sector expresses concern Saloni Bhatia and Mohit Rathod TRAVEL BOOKINGS are noted to have not been affected post GST implementation, according to key industry players. However, the hospitality industry has voiced concerns over the newly implemented tax regime. "The GST for tour packages, both domestic and international, has seen a marginal increase from 4.5 per cent to five per cent, and as such we do not anticipate any impact to holiday demand; in fact, this is seen as a relief by consumers as it compares extremely favourable against the current service tax which saw a doubling of the rate from 4.5 per cent to nine per cent (applicable from January 22, 2017). Again, the increase from 1.5 per cent to 1.8 per cent on international air tickets is marginal and we do not foresee impact; and this applies to domestic air tickets too with a change from 0.75 per cent to 0.9 per cent," said Debasis Nandy, chief financial officer and president – commercial, finance and accounts, Thomas Cook India.

In the OTA market, Cleartrip has observed a sharp increase in queries around travel related GST since the day of the implementation.

While travellers are keen to understand the impact on fares, this has not affected their travel plans. Balu Ramachandran, head – air and distribution, Cleartrip, commented, "GST implementation has been positive on Air demand as we see a week on week increase of volume increase by seven per cent for domestic and nine per cent for international in the week after GST implementation, which is concurrent with an average

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dip in prices by on per cent and three per cent for domestic and international respectively."

MICE Post the GST roll out, the MICE related activities have been hit hard, as pointed out

by Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI). One of the anomalies that emerged post GST roll out was that MICE activities and other events held in hotels outside of home state are not eligible for Input Tax Credit (ITC). This has been leading to cancellations and postponements for prebooked events. HRAWI has also appealed to the government to revisit this particular aspect of the GST. “There is an overall reduction in MICE bookings across hotels in India as compared to the same period last year. Advance bookings are being cancelled and new bookings are not happening. Wedding season, one of the top grossing times for hotel banquet division, is expected to be flat this year.

Most companies are considering holding events in the same state where they are registered under GST. Businesses may still have digested the high GST, but without ITC, it

just becomes unviable. MICE tourism is too important a segment for the nation to overlook,” said Dilip Datwani, president, HRAWI. "From a corporate travel perspective, given that the amount can be offset, we do not envisage a downside. However, it is the sheer complexity in the execution/compliance that we see significant challenges: filing required at multiple levels and hence involving a substantial increase in effort-time," added Nandy. Affirming the same, Vishal Suri, managing director, SOTC Travel said that five per cent GST rate on tour packages is a welcomed move for consumers. However, high end hotels and business class air travel is going to be costlier under the GST. "Countries that have adapted GST have grown in their GDP. The implementation of GST will now rationalise and simplify tax regime. In the long term, it is expected to enable the muchrequired growth needed for the travel industry," he said.

"For corporate travellers who benefit the most post GST changes, with their ability to claim input credit we see a significant jump in volumes by 26 per cent. There is no marked change in the percent-

age of cancellations and refunds post the implementation," stated Ramachandran.

Govt support The GST Council had constituted eight standing committees and 18 sectoral working groups for smooth rollout of GST. The main job of the standing committee is to provide solutions to the GST council which are suggested by the respective industries.

Sungita Sharma, principal commissioner, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) is representing tourism and travel industry to the GST council. She has been part of several meetings with the industry stakeholder and associations, and feels that there has been a gap in interpretation and the officials are trying their best to assist smooth transitioning. She said, “The tax regime of the new country has a new interface but one needs to pay attention to the detail.” Mentioning the fact that the company officials can reach out to the government for help she said, “The government has set up Seva Kendras across cities in order to assist the companies and the information has been listed online.”

Most countries have im-

plemented ideal GST, with all indirect taxes grouped under one. India is going to implement dual GST with separate central and state component, which further complicates the process. Sachin Jain, additional commissioner, Central Board of Excise and Customs mentioned that the two very important aspects of understanding GST is to know the place of supplier and place of supply. Jain informed, the major concern area for the tour operators has been regarding the registration of their companies.

He clarified, “Multiple registration is not required by a firm which is operating out of a specific area and provides service is another state. The matter lies in the format of how the bill is raised and where the service provided, which is further determined by the interstate supply or intrastate supply.”

Two rates have been decided by the council which stand at five per cent without ITC or 18 per cent with ITC. Many of tour operators suggested that there should be no option by the government.

Jain stated, “As two options led to confusion among the agents, many members suggested to one rate. But the government has decided to give an option to the agents since everybody functions at a different level. One can pick what best suits their operations. One option might jeopardize the business for many and thus two options by the government will lead to clarity in business.”

Members who are concerned about their CENVAT credit post GST should know that it can be carried forward post GST and availed from the government, asserted Jain.

IN THE NEWS

ICPB 's 10th Conventions India Conclave to be held in Hyderabad Saloni Bhatia New Delhi INDIA CONVENTION Promotion Bureau (ICPB) will host the 10th Conventions India Conclave in Hyderabad from August 29-31 this year at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC). This year's theme is 'Expanding the Boundaries - Mission Impossible' which shall focus on all the segments of MICE. The highlight of the event will be the special networking session bringing together associations from medical, scientific, cardiology fields.

Speaking to Express TravelWorld, Chander Mansharamani, vice chairman,

ICPB, about this new addition, he stated, “The special networking evening will bring together about 65 associations from medical and scientific sectors that host exhibitions throughout the year. This shall help the industry to meet the respective buyers from the domestic market.”

The conclave is expected to host around 250-300 delegates comprising stakeholders, corporate heads, medical fraternity representatives, the scientific community and other decision makers of the MICE industry. The two-day event shall see sessions and panel discussions on various topics like technology innovation in the meeting industry, incentive – meeting

The conclave is expected to host around 250-300 delegates comprising stakeholders, corporate heads, medical fraternity representatives, the scientific community and other decision makers of the MICE industry expectations of corporates, synergy between exhibition and conference industry and other keynote international speakers. The event will be sponsored by Telangana government along with Ministry

of Tourism with HICC as the venue partner.

Mansharamani further added, “As this is our 10th year, we are planning to make special tie-ups with local partners and exhibition or-

ganisers. Ramoji Film City are looking at a formal tie-up with ICPB for a convention centre in Hyderabad. This year we shall continue with the concept of pre-arranged B2B meetings as they are more beneficial for the buyers and exhibitors.”

The two-day event will see more than 200 domestic buyers with 50 international participants. Amaresh Tiwari, secretary, ICPB said, “We look forward to hosting the delegates this year and showcase India's MICE facilities. During its 10th year the conclave shall open doors to special exhibitions associations. This will further help the members to identify new business opportunities and make contacts with new buyers.”

ATOAI decodes GSTfor adventure travel Saloni Bhatia New Delhi ADVENTURE Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) hosted a special GST session for its members to clear some specific issues about the new tax regime.

Sachin Jain, additional commissioner, Central Board of Excise and Customs was available to handle the queries of the members. Addressing the audience, Swadesh Kumar, president, ATOAI, mentioned that since there has been no specification for the adventure tour operators in the GST law, it is important to understand it in detail and know how it affects the business operations.

Tej Bir Singh Anand, vice president, ATOAI, took over the stage by slowly bringing up the issues that were put forward by the members. Major concerns were regarding multiple registrations, state supply, oversees billings, how to treat cruises and camel rides while billing, how to avail input tax credit among many others. Jain answered the queries entering into details of the place of supplier and place of supply.

Raising a valuable point in the discussion, Ajeet Bajaj, senior vice president, ATOAI, mentioned that more than taking up the issue at centre level it should be taken up at the state level by various agents which will lead to quick

responses and better functionality for the members.

Members told the government officials that GST implications were affecting their daily business operations as many companies are still sorting their billing formats.

Jain opined, “The more one will work under GST, better the understanding of how it affects daily operations.

However, if there are still issues that you feel haven't been covered under the law, you can bring it up to the officials so it can be put forward to the designated committee.”

The GST session was followed by a special presentation by Jumpin Heights which completed 50,000 jumps this

ATOAI CONVENTION IN KERALA ATOAI will hold its 13th Annual Convention at Backwaters Ripples Resort, Kumarakom, Kerala from September 18-21, 2017.The theme for this year’s edition is 'Emerging Pathways'.The annual convention is supported and hosted by Kerala Tourism but ATOAI is inviting all stakeholders to contribute in its resolve to make India the adventure capital of the world.These include government, tourism boards, industry, experts and media.The agenda will include sessions on how to achieve these goals, networking amongst delegates, exhibits by state tourism boards and industry players, and FAM trips and a day of adventure to showcase Kerala as a unique tourist destination.ATOAI has ensured that its annual convention and events travel to different parts of the country to connect all stakeholders in the adventure tourism and to draw attention to host destinations.

March. ATOAI will be hosting its 13th Annual Convention in Kochi in September. Kumar stated, "The convention will showcase various adventure activities that can be con-

ducted in the backwater regions of Kerala. We have full support of the government and will request all the members to sign up for the three day event."

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'ANUMBER OFTTC BRANDS OFFER AMAZING DINING EXPERIENCES' The Travel Corporation’s (TTC) family of brands recently announced its global partnership with VizEat, the world's most popular meal sharing platform. Brett Tollman, CEO, TTC speaks about the focused initiatives to offer immersive culinary experiences to their travellers

By Sudipta Dev What kind of unique culinary experiences are you looking to offer to your guests through this partnership?

Our Travel Corporation travellers are primarily interested in enjoying authentic, immersive experiences in each destination, and ‘dining with locals’ is one such offering, which is why VizEat is a great partnership for us. The focus is having a wonderful dining experience in a local’s home, eating delicious, typical regional cuisine. Our guests are from all over the world and they enjoy the high level of camaraderie by dining together while making new friends.

As the TTC family of brands covers varied segments and budgets, are these experi-

ences only for your luxury tours ?

We are launching this terrific partnership across all of our TTC Family of brands including Contiki, Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, Luxury Gold, Uniworld, Busabout, Evan Evans, Red Carnation Hotels, AAT Kings, Inspiring Journeys, and focused on ensuring there are dining options for all price points.

Are you also looking to include culinary tours as a separate segment ?

A number of TTC brands offer amazing dining experiences, such as Trafalgar’s exclusive 'Be My Guest' experiences where our guests are welcomed into locals’ homes, unique settings and wineries. Insight Vacations of-

called 'Munch', including tapas feasts and cooking lessons. The VizEat partnership further enhances our guests’ local dining experiences as they enjoy their vacation with us.

Brett Tollman

fers 'Dine Around Evenings' where the travellers can choose from three-four restaurants to sample the regional cuisine in small groups. Our millennial brand, Contiki has a number culinary focused foodie trips

Your views in the context of the Indian market, taking into consideration that Indian travellers are often particular about their food choices ?

Our TTC trips offer a wonderful variety of regional cuisine and different dining options. We offer cooking classes with local chefs, wine and olive oil tastings, visiting local food markets, and sampling local specialties. We would hope and encourage that all travellers going abroad are open to trying new cuisine, different dishes

and drinks, enjoyed around a table with local customs, local stories and exchanges.

Any other interesting factor you would like to highlight ?

When I was recently in Paris, I enjoyed a meal in one of Vizeat’s local’s homes, and we enjoyed a delicious meal with steamed white asparagus, a Moroccan spiced roast lamb and local fruits for dessert, washed down with lovely local wines, in their garden. I would hope that any traveller, first time or seasoned, from any background and culture, would enjoy such a simple but delicious meal, while getting to know some new and interesting people around a dinner table.

My fellow diners and I certainly did.

Dubai Tourism sustains cruise promotions in India Mohit Rathod Mumbai DUBAI CORPORATION for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM) is sustaining its efforts to promote Dubai cruises in the India market. DCTCM recently held a cruise tourism roadshow across key Indian markets including Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. Last year, the emirate welcomed over 600,000 cruise passengers from across the world, which marked an increase of 25 per cent from the previous season. Jamal Humaid Al Falasi, director – cruise tourism, Dubai Tourism, said, "India ranks first

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in terms of overall tourist footfall to Dubai, so we are trying provide Indian travellers more opportunities in Dubai, and cruise is one of them. Every year we try to trace the demand across India. Next year we will plan to include more cities, depending upon the demand and response."

The cruise department of Dubai Tourism aims to reach one million cruise tourists by 2020. Currently, seven cruise lines operate in Dubai which include Costa Cruises, MSC Cruises, Royal Caribbean, TUI Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Thomson Cruises.

Kunal Sampat, general manager – India, MSC Cruises, said, "Our Dubai sailings are always

the winter sailings – December to March. We see year-on-year growth of 18 per cent to 19 per cent in terms of the number of passengers. Since there are vast opportunities in Dubai and the passenger numbers have been increasing, we have deployed bigger ships in this region. There has been an emerging trend of

longer itineraries. Along with passengers, travel agents have also evolved."

DCTCM isn't targetting a particular traveller segment in India and aims tap opportunities across multiple segments.

Nalini Gupta, managing director, Lotus Destinations (GSA of Costa Cruises India), added,

"Cruise companies can target a vast spectrum of traveller segments in Dubai. The authorities in Dubai have been constantly looking for opportunities to make cruising even more convenient each year, but what's missing is the zest among Indian travel industry to sell cruises. The industry here needs to get equipped.

The market is so large that no cruise company faces competition from another. Dubai Tourism has also sustained its marketing and promotional activities in the India market, so more and more people are getting educated about Dubai cruises."

IN THE NEWS

BuyForexOnline plans growth in B2B market

Indian visitors to Holland record 19% growth in Q1 2017

Mohit Rathod Mumbai BENGALURU-BASED online foreign exchange service provider BuyForexOnline, identifying B2B market as a growth driver, is channeling its efforts on B2B space alongside its core B2C business. The company had launched its B2B platform in December 2016 in five locations – NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai.

In an exclusive interaction with Express TravelWorld, Ananth Reddy, founder and managing director, BuyForexOnline, said, "Currently a large part of our business consists of B2C, but we wanted go to the source of foreign travel – the travel agent. Travel agents find it complex to co-ordinate forex, which includes various things such as finding the best rates, arranging documents, payments, delivery and customer support. Hence we have outcourced this in a simple structure known as 'Total Agent Module', an online tool where you can trigger the

Travel agents had showed slight reluctance initially, but we have assure them that we are not here to steal their businesses; we are here to ensure that forex becomes a proper revenue stream for travel agents lead of your client, then we take care of everything."

At present the B2C market consists of 80 per cent of the company's overall business, but it is planning to push the B2B platform nationwide, alongside prepaid forex card. "We promote prepaid foreign exchange card which is linked to the travel agent and valid for five years, so anytime the customer transacts with us, the agent gets his commission. Travel agents had showed slight reluctance initially, but we have assure them that we are not here to steal their businesses;

Ananth Reddy

we are here to ensure that forex becomes a proper revenue stream for travel agents, instead of a one-time transaction."

BuyForexOnline's B2B platform received around 4,000 agents, and is targeting 40,000 agents. To drive this growth, the company plans to foray into 30 locations panIndia including Tier II and Tier III locations in about six months.

"We need to have our feet street to acquire more travel agents. We understand that a travel agent has multiple revenue streams, but we won't enter into any of these; we are only focused on forex.

Forex has traditionally been an offline activity; the online forex market has been visible only since 2014. Demonetisation has been very positive for us as an online forex service provider. The trend of forex cards is increasing in the country, which offers simplicity, convenience and security," added Reddy.

For the two next years, BuyForexOnline will focus on bringing more agents its platform, and expanding its sales team.

ETW Staff Mumbai NETHERLANDS Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC) has announced an increase in Indian arrivals to the Netherlands in the first quarter of 2017. In comparison with the last year’s Q1 Indian arrival figures, the country recorded a growth of over 19 per cent in Indian arrivals to Holland from January to March this year, proving that India is one of the top growing markets for the destination.

SanJeet, India representative, NBTC, said, “It gives us immense pleasure to let everyone know that the India market continues to be one of the important contributors of international visitors to Holland. Last year, Holland came much closer to the millions of Indian travellers with Jet Airways launching daily non-stop flights from India to Holland.

Business missions in 2016 have also increased the graph of Indian arrivals to Holland.

With our consolidated efforts in shaping Holland as a perfect getaway destination for Indian travellers, we are hopeful of achieving a double-digit

To engage with travel trade on a consistent basis, NBTC is looking to participate in multi-city travel trade shows growth.”

To encourage more Indian tourists to visit Holland, NBTC has multiple activities planned including familiarisation trips and a three-city business mission in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. To engage with travel trade on a consistent and sustained basis, NBTC is also looking to participate in various multicity travel trade shows.

Tourists are also apprised of Holland’s offerings by engaging them in multiple social media and digital campaigns, consumer activations and more.

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IN THE NEWS

Gloria Guevara India will need Manzo joins WTTC as 2,100 aircraft in president and CEO next two decades: Boeing

ETW Staff Mumbai THE WORLD TRAVEL & Tourism Council (WTTC) has announced the appointment of Gloria Guevara Manzo as its new president and CEO. Guevara served as secretary of tourism for Mexico and CEO of the Mexican Tourism Board from 2010 to 2012, minister in the cabinet of President Calderón. Prior to that she worked for global distribution system Sabre where most recently she was CEO of Sabre Mexico, reporting to the board of directors of a joint venture between Aeroméxico, Mexicana and Sabre Holdings. She is currently special advisor on government affairs for the Centre on Health and the Global Environment at the School of Public Health, Harvard.

Announcing Guevara’s appointment, Gerald Lawless, chairman, WTTC, said, “Gloria is a proven leader who is well known and well respected within the global travel and tourism sector. I am delighted that she will lead WTTC into the next phase of its development. Gloria was chosen from a competitive field of international candidates. With a career encompassing senior roles across private sector, government and academia, she brings a unique combination of experience and expertise.”

Reflecting on her appointment, Guevara said, “I am excited to be taking up the role of president and CEO of WTTC. Over the past few years, WTTC has grown enormously in stature and impact. I look forward to building on this great foundation to expand the council’s advocacy work for travel and tourism, a sector which accounts for 10 per cent of the world’s GDP and one in 10 jobs. This is a critical time for travel and tourism and the 292 million people whose jobs depend on it. Future forecasts are strong, but with ongoing terrorism and environmental challenges, compounded by a world which is simultaneously ever more connected yet increasingly divided, now, more than ever, the sector needs to come together with

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ETW Staff Mumbai

Gloria Guevara Manzo

Guevara is currently special advisor on government affairs for the Centre on Health and the Global Environment at the School of Public Health, Harvard one voice."

"Travel and tourism needs to show not only its economic importance but also how it is committed to creating sustainable livelihoods, protecting nature and cultures, and asserting itself as a responsible and leading player in this fast-evolving world. I am looking forward to working with the chairman, vice chairs, executive committee and members of WTTC to ensure that the voice of the travel and tourism is heard and understood by governments around the world,” she added.

BOEING has said that India will take deliveries of 2,100 new planes worth US$ 290 billion in the next 20 years, calling it the highest forecast for the country. India’s share will account for more than 5.1 per cent of the total global demand of 41,030 aircraft, the American aeronautic company said. According to Boeing’s Current Market Outlook, almost 85 per cent of these new planes in India are likely to be single-aisle with low-cost carriers operating more than 60 per cent of all flights.

“The increasing number of passengers combined with a strong exchange rate, low fuel prices and high load factors bode well for India’s aviation market, especially the low-cost carriers,” said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president, Asia

Pacific and India Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Boeing also expects to benefit from the government’s regional connectivity scheme (RCS) in the years to come, when smaller 70seat aircraft will be replaced by bigger ones, such as Boeing’s 737s, following an increase in traffic on these routes.

“RCS will allow opening of new routes, thus providing more connectivity. Over the next four-five years, the growth on those routes will make a Boeing 737 viable. We are very bullish that if it (RCS) works out, we will be one of the beneficiaries,” Keskar said.

The passenger traffic in South Asia is expected to grow at a rate of eight per cent, followed by China at 6.2 per cent.

The growth rate in the region is likely to be more than double that of Europe (3.7 per cent) and North America (three per cent).

IN THE NEWS

Meghalaya records two-fold increase in tourist footfall in last 10 yrs ETW Staff Mumbai TOURIST INFLOW to Meghalaya has doubled in the past 10-years and the number is increasing at a rapid rate, officials said. The primary reason for this increase was the improved internal security within the state and the free publicity of tourist spots on social networks and in the public domain, they said. Tourist inflow, both domestic and international, has increased from 4.04 lakh in 2006 to 8.39 lakh till last year, according to statistics from the state tourism department.

In 2006, a little over four lakh domestic tourists visited

the state while in 2016, there were 8.3 lakh domestic footfalls whereas during the same period, the foreign tourist visits has increased from a little over 4,000 to nearly 8,500 footfalls till December last year.

There has been a steady increase of about 50,000 more footfalls every year and going by the current rate, the number of tourists visiting the state will double in the next seven-eight years.

The state government has also increased investment under the tourism mission and implemented several schemes, which include construction of tourist lodges, guest houses, roadside amenities and restaurants to promote tourism, ac-

cording to chief minister Mukul Sangma.

With the inflow increasing, management experts warned that it could cause serious damage on fragile ecological spots like the double-decked rootbirdges in Sohra (erstwhile Cherrapunji), the sacred groves at Mawphlang (both in East Khasi Hills) or the limestone caves in East Jaintia Hills.

Sanjib Kakoty who teaches at the IIM-Shillong, said while inflow of tourists is good, preference should be given to attract quality tourists and not just quantity or the bulk visitors who could cause serious damage to the ecology of the area.

“The double-decked bridge or

the sacred groves cannot take in certain number of people at a given time. Proper regulation of visitors by the concerned authorities is a must given the present conditions,” he said.

Recently, there were massive traffic jams for over 30 km along the Guwahati – Shillong Sohra highway. This is particular witnessed during weekends when thousands of cars from neighbouring Assam flock the state.

Cautioning the 100 per cent increase of tourists inflow into the state, founding chairman of the Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum and a former minister, R G Lyngdoh said, “Many things could go wrong if we depend management of

tourism on the government.

The public at large should take ownership and should look for solutions for itself. Village durbars should ensure proper management of a particular area and to also take stock of the ecology and to ensure that culture and local habits are intact,” he said.

The tourist inflow has also witnessed an increase of beds even in far flung villages. The state government has identified over 40 tourist spots and East Khasi Hills district, in which Sohra, the wettest place on earth is located, attracts the bulk of tourists, a senior government official said.

(PTI)

Modern terminal building to be set up at Jammu Airport ETW Staff Mumbai THE JAMMU Airport is set to enhance passenger experience with an expanded and modernised terminal along with aerobridges that will be completed by the end of this year. “The ongoing project of terminal building expansion is in its final phase and likely to be completed by the end of August,” said D K Gautam, director, Airport Authority of India (AAI). Gautam said the Jammu Airport is being considered to be “hypersensitive” with several security restrictions besides by space constraint, adding that execution of the massive expansion work without any flight disruptions

and minimum inconvenience to the passengers is a major achievement for AAI. “Of the `80 crore project, the complete departure hall at ground floor is now completed and will be open to passenger traffic by mid August. The first floor is be likely to be completed the same month,” Gautam said.

The three aerobridges under construction are expected to be completed by September-end and will be commissioned by mid November, he added. A shelter for passengers from extreme weather conditions, by providing tensile fabrics canopy from airport ticketing counters till exit gate, is already in advanced stage of execution and is likely to be completed by August end 2017.

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IN THE NEWS

Odisha aims at 30% growth in FTA this year ETW Staff Mumbai THE ODISHA government is targeting a 30 per cent growth in foreign tourist arrivals at around one lakh travellers in the state this calendar year. In 2016, the state hosted 76,361 foreign tourists, most of them from Sri Lanka, Japan, some European and South Asian nations. “We are witnessing a steady growth in foreign tourist arrivals over the years. In 2016, the state saw over 14 per cent growth in overseas travellers from the previous year. “This year, we hosted the Asian Athletics Championship that gave us very good opportunity to showcase the state at an international level,” said Nitin B Jawale, managing director, Odisha Tourism Development Corporation. “Looking at the current trends, we are expecting 30 per cent growth in foreign tourist arrivals at around one lakh visitors,” he said.

Odisha, he said, has always been attracting overseas holidaymakers who want to explore its rich heritage and culture, and is the place where King Ashoka embraced Buddhism. “We want to promote the state as a leisure destination, which offers history, culture, mangrove forests, eco tourism, beautiful coastline and food, among others. We are working on activities which will encourage these tourists to spend more time in the state,” Jawale added. He said the government is hopeful of attracting a large number of international sightseers to Odisha and for this, different promotional activities are lined up in China, Europe and South East Asia, among others.

“After direct air connectivity with Malaysia, the South Asian countries provide a huge potential for us. We also see huge potential in China.

We want to strengthen Europe and the US as our source

markets. We are looking at travellers between 25-45 years, as this segment is growing fast,” he added. Further, Odisha is adding 500 rooms in next three years in the star category, he said.

Currently, the state has 39,497 rooms under middle to high standard category and 75,152

in the low category. The government is looking at publicprivate partnership is setting up 28 smaller properties with 5-25 rooms capacity in ecologically sensitive and interior areas of the eastern state.

Talking about domestic tourism, Jawale said the state is a leading pilgrimage desti-

nation for Hindus and gets a very high number of travellers from within the country. In 2016, Odisha hosted over 1.28 core tourists from all over the country. “This year, we are expecting around five per cent increase in domestic tourists arrivals,” Jawale added.

(PTI)

Gujarat to hold heritage festival to celebrate Ahmedabad’s UNESCO tag ETW Staff Mumbai THE GUJARAT government is organising heritage festival between August 1-15 to celebrate the declaration of Ahmedabad as World Heritage City by UNESCO. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced this after holding a meeting with officials of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and senior government officials, according to an official release. As part of the programme, heritage walks will be organised in the walled city of Ahmedabad with the chief minister appealing to people to participate. The celebration will also see organisation of seminars where heritage experts will share their views, the release said, adding that painting, debate and poster making competitions will also be organised in schools and colleges. Heritage buildings and archaeological sites around Ahmedabad will be decorated with lights and laser shows, and cultural programmes will be held.

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The UNESCO had on Saturday announced that it had inscribed as UNESCO world heritage site the historic city of Ahmedabad. The city was in competition with New Delhi and Mumbai for the title. The walled city of Ahmedabad was founded by Ahmed Shah. It has 26 ASI-protected structures, hundreds of ‘pols’

that capture the essence of community living and numerous sites associated with Mahatma Gandhi who lived here from 1915 to 1930.

It is constituted out of residential settlements ‘pol’ and has a specific scale of its community based settlement grouping. Several of such settlements combined together forms a ‘Pur’ neighbourhood. The historic city has several ‘Pur’ neighbourhoods forming the entire fortified historic city. These various ‘Pur’ have their own urban structure which are self-sufficient for the communities, where each ‘pol’ is a self-sufficient unit.

In 1984, the first study for conserving heritage structures was carried out. A heritage cell was also set up by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).

The milestone was Ahmedabad’s entry into UNESCO’s tentative list of world heritage cities on March 31, 2011 and preparation of the Ahmedabad dossier.

(PTI)

IN THE NEWS

Technology enhances passenger satisfaction at bag collection and borders: Report ETW Staff Mumbai PASSENGER satisfaction is higher during the airline journey when self-service technologies are used, particularly at bag tag and collection, and passport checkpoints, according to the 2017 SITA Passenger IT Trends Survey, a global survey released by IT provider SITA and co-sponsored by Air Transport World.

The survey showed that passengers rate their journey highly with an overall satisfaction rate of 8.2 of out 10 but this is boosted even further when technologies such as mobile services and biometrics are used.

Ilya Gutlin, president – air travel solutions, SITA, said, “Passengers are increasingly comfortable with the use of technology in their everyday lives, and they are demanding more services as they appreciate the benefits technology can bring to their journey. Airports and airlines can take note that technology solutions can boost passenger satisfaction every step of the way.”

In the global air transport industry, identity checks are a vital element of the passenger journey. SITA’s survey showed that technology, such as biometrics, can support security while offering a better passenger experience. Automated identity checks at passport control and boarding increases passenger satisfaction.

A total of 37 per cent of travellers surveyed by SITA used automated ID control on their last flight. Of these, 55 per cent said they had used biometrics at departure security, 33 per cent for boarding and 12 per

cent for international arrivals.

Looking forward, 57 per cent of passengers said they would use biometrics for their next trip.

Passengers who use biometrics are highly satisfied; they rated the experience 8.4, well above the ratings for face-to-face transactions at passport check (8) and boarding (8.2), demonstrating passenger acceptance of this secure technology to deliver a seamless journey.

Baggage collection is another area where technology is improving the passenger experience. Airlines and airports are helping to relieve the anxiety of waiting for bags to arrive by providing real-time information to passengers. On their last flight, more than half (58 per cent) of passengers who checked in bags received

SITA’s survey showed that technology, such as biometrics, can support security while offering a better passenger experience real-time bag-collection information upon arrival.

These passengers were happier than those who did not receive any information, rating their experience 8.4 out 10. Passengers are even more satisfied when they receive the information to their mobile devices.

SITA’s survey shows that this bumped up satisfaction levels by an extra 10 per cent.

Technology is also driving

passenger satisfaction for baggage management earlier in the journey as more airlines and airports offer self-bag tagging. The use of this technology increased satisfaction to a rating of 8.4 out of 10. Nearly half (47 per cent) of all passengers took advantage of a self-service tagging option on their most recent trip, which is a healthy increase from 31 per cent in 2016. As more self-bag tag options are made available

we can expect passenger satisfaction at this point of the journey to increase.

This year’s survey also highlighted that as passengers become more familiar using technology during travel, the more likely they are to switch to newer, more efficient platforms.

They are increasingly using smarter, mobile-enabled websites to book and check-in. Airline and airport apps, meanwhile, meet passengers’ desire for new services to help them better manage their journey.

They want personalised information about their flight, their baggage and how to find their gate directly on their mobile device.

The appetite for new services using technology is high: three quarters (74 per cent) of passengers said they would definitely use flight and gate alerts pushed to their mobile devices; 57 per cent would use airport wayfinding; and 57 per cent would use biometrics to smooth identification each step of the way.

Gutlin added, “Passengers aren’t deciding anymore whether they should use technology but which technology to use. They want to make each step of the journey as easy as possible. Tech adoption will be driven by both context and usability. For this reason, a clear focus on the end-users’ demands should shape the services airlines and airports offer.”

The 12th edition of the SITA/ATW Passenger IT Trends Survey was conducted with more than 7,000 passengers from 17 countries across the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa representing almost three-quarters of global passenger traffic.

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

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IN THE NEWS

Lemon Tree Hotels Roseate Hotels and forays into extended Resorts acquires stays with Sandal Suites Villa at Henrietta Park in UK ETW Staff Mumbai

Saloni Bhatia New Delhi SANDAL SUITES, the upscale serviced suites operated

by Lemon Tree Hotels, has been recently launched in Noida. Situated just off the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, the property is Lemon Tree Hotel's first venture into the extended stay category.

Located within the Assotech Business Cressterra, the property is well placed in the IT hub of Sector 135, Noida. Featuring 195 suites, extensive banqueting facilities, dining options and other recreational facilities, Sandal Suites will cater to the extended stay accommodation need of the business hub.

Speaking at the launch, Rattan Keswani, deputy managing director, Lemon Tree Hotels and director, Carnation Hotels, said, “Sandal Suites will be a unique extended stay product, amalgamating the

20 EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD August 2017

Different from other serviced apartments, the numerous facilities at the hotel like spa, sports club, personal kitchenettes will offer a comfortable stay needs of a regional and western travellers to deliver a complete experience. We have focused on optimising space in order to provide the comfort of a home away from home. Different from other serviced apartments, the numerous facilities at the hotel like spa, sports club, personal kitchenettes will offer a comfortable stay.”

This is Lemon Tree Hotels' debut into the extended stay concept in partnership with Sandal Suites, a sister com-

pany of Assotech. The MICE facilities at the hotel include Tangerine Grand, a ballroom which can cater to about 220 guests and spaces for business meetings. When asked about future developments, Rupesh Kumar Singh, general manager, Sandal Suites, informed, “In coming months we will also open the garden area for events which shall easily accommodate more people. The bar and spa will open by the end of October, adding to the facilities.”

ROSEATE HOTELS and Resorts, a global collection of independent stay experiences by Bird Hospitality, has announced its acquisition of Villa at Henrietta Park (formerly known as Villa Magdala) in Bath, United Kingdom.

Acquired from the independently owned Kaleidoscope Collection, Villa at Henrietta Park is Roseate Hotels and Resort’s third property in the UK. The two existing properties being The Royal Park London – a Roseate House hotel, and The Forbury Roseate in Reading.

The boutique property offers 21 rooms and is set in two restored Victorian houses with individual gardens. Dr Ankur Bhatia, director, Bird Hospi-

tality Services, said, “We are proud to put our flag on one of the most iconic properties in Bath. Bath is an important market for us as it is one of the most visited cities and is amongst the major UNESCO World Heritage sites. Villa would be branded as The Roseate Villa Bath.”

Commenting on the acquisition, Ravi Birdy, executive director, Roseate Hotels and Resorts, said, “Roseate Hotels and Resorts offers a portfolio of new and existing ultrachic luxury hotels carefully curated envisaging the best in design, art, hospitality, and personalisation centered around guest experience. As one of the fastest growing Indian luxury brand in hospitality, our focus continues to be on quality and customer service.”

IN THE NEWS

Lulu group’s mixed use project in Thiruvananthapuram to have a Sheraton hotel Steena Joy Mumbai THE UAE-BASED LULU GROUP International’s mixed use project coming up in Thiruvananthapuram will have a mall, convention centre and hotel. The hotel will be managed by Starwood’s Sheraton brand. Speaking to Express TravelWorld, Jose Sebastian, GM, Lulu Convention Centre and Hotel informed that the convention space will be able to accommodate more than 1,500 people. And

will be huge, nearly 40,000 sq ft.” All permissions are in place and work is expected to start soon.

Meanwhile another project, the Lulu Grand Hyatt Hotel and Convention Centre, coming up at Bolgatty Island in Kochi will open by this year end. The complex is expected to offer 100,000 sq ft of meetings space. This includes the meeting rooms in a Grand Hyatt hotel with 290 keys which is also part of the complex.The complex will have two separate areas – one for weddings and the other for conferences and

conventions.

Also the `150 crore expansion of the Lulu Convention Centre Thrissur is scheduled to be completed by April 2018. Jose added, “The new block of 100 rooms will be in

the five-star category. It will continue to be managed by the Lulu brand. The new extension is expected to boost our convention business as it will have a lot more meetings spaces – two boardrooms,

three mini halls of 80, 100 and 200 pax respectively and two big halls of 8,000 sq ft each with capacity to accommodate 600 pax each. This is apart from the poolside party zone of 4,000 sq ft.”

AccorHotels launches West India's first Grand Mercure property Mohit Rathod Vadodara ACCORHOTELS has forayed its upscale brand Grand Mercure in West India, with the rebranding of the city’s 30-yearold landmark hotel Surya Palace to Grand Mercure Vadodara Surya Palace. Speaking at a press conference recently, Piyush Shah, managing director, Jindal Hotels (the owner company of the property), said, “We are the most popular hotel in the city and have formed a strong foundation over 30 years. Being a standalone hotel, earlier our marketing reach was confined to a certain scale.

However, this association with AccorHotels will help us tap a larger market, domestically

and internationally.”

The 146-room hotel leverages upon its proximity to the airport and Vadodara’s positioning as a business city, to target the corporate traveller segment. The inventory also includes one presidential suite and four premier suites, alongside facilities such as an outdoor pool. The hotel of-

fers events spaces of over 19,000 sq ft across different venues.

The rebranding is part of Jindal Hotels’ management agreement with AccorHotels. A total of INR 55 crore has also been spent on the renovation of the hotel, which includes expansion of inventory and property upgradation. Jean-Michel Casse, chief

operating officer – India and South Asia, AccorHotels, commented, “Grand Mercure is a brand that has customised the hotel’s location. Alongside renovation, we have also customised our offerings which include local culinary and art, being reflected in the hotel.”

“We have the highest inven-

tory in the city, which helps us to target the MICE segment more efficiently. Keeping the local essence unaffected, this association with AccorHotels will offer Grand Mercure’s consistent service to global travellers,” stated Rajesh Gopalakrishnan, general manager, Grand Mercure Vadodara Surya Palace.

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

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As India celebrates her 71st Independence Day, Express TravelWorld explores some of her unique bespoke luxury experiences that have great potential to attract the world traveller

BY SUDIPTA DEV

22 EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD August 2017

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rom being a land of exotic palace hotels, which once defined the concept of luxury travel in India, today the luxury tourism offerings of the country have evolved along with the changing profile and demands of the new age international and domestic travellers. The changing definition of luxury has given a fillip to the luxury travel market in India, which has been growing at a robust rate, with great potential for the future. Luxury Travel Market report, published by Allied Market Research, forecasts that the global market is expected to generate US$ 1,154 billion by 2022. The APAC luxury travel market indicates the fastest growth on account of the growing number of middle income groups, with India estimated to register a CAGR of 12.3 per cent from 2016 to 2022. Pointing out that India is an emerging leader in the APAC market, Karan Anand, head – relationships, Cox & Kings, says, “India is known throughout the world for the huge spectrum of breathtaking experiences. Once only being a paradise for backpackers, India has evolved over a period of time to offer numerous luxury experiences within the country. The most exquisite luxury experiences include glamorous camping at TUTC Ladakh, the supreme comfort and luxury at a joyride on Deccan Odyssey, hot balloon ride over the pink city of Jaipur, spa in the tranquility of the Himalayas, houseboat tour to explore the backwaters of Kerala, relaxation at a private yacht in Goa and Ayurvedic treatments/ tree house stays in Kerala.”

The most common is of course an immemorial stay in one of India's famed luxury palaces and resorts like the Taj Lake Palace (Udaipur), Umaid Bhawan Palace

(Jodhpur), Laxmi Niwas Palace (Bikaner), Devi Garh (Udaipur) and Lebua Resort (Jaipur). Anand shares that Cox & Kings' premium customers opt for the company's exclusive Air Charter holidays to Kabini, Shillong and Rishikesh. There are also those who prefer only luxury vehicles. “We keep premium cars such as Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Land Rover at their service,” remarks Anand, adding that luxury travellers also ask for exclusive offerings such as seaplane flight, cruise along coast, desert camps and participation in local activities/ festivals. Culinary trails and private small-group journeys are also popular among this segment.

"Luxury is relative aspect," asserts Vikram Madhok, MD, Abercrombie & Kent India, reminding that most luxury inbound travellers come to India for two things – first are the palaces and villas set in magical locations such as Udaipur, Jodhpur, the leopard camp in Jawai or Amanbagh at Alwar.

"The second aspect of luxury is where it is experience based, whether it is going on the Ganges for spiritual experience or Varanasi or Rishikesh, or taking to the mountains and staying in remote areas discovering yourself," mentions Madhok, adding that for his company the leading market is the US, followed by the UK and then come the rest. “You are looking at a price point from US$ 450-800 per night.

As far as inbound is concerned India being a long haul destination, it demands more time, minimum two weeks, so we have seen those 60 and above are coming here. However, we have started to notice people are taking shorter holidays a year, maybe a spa vacation in the Himalayas or going for Ayurveda or Yoga to the backwaters of Kerala. This is from five to seven nights and preferred by younger people.

Many of them have had a good experience in India and are coming back,” states Madhok.

The new age of luxury

travel is curated, real-time and experience-led. “Luxury travellers primarily seek unique experiences that enrich them emotionally and psychologically. They do not mind splurging and opt for holidays which are intricately designed as per their requirements. They prefer to indulge while on a holiday,” says Amod Thatte, head - product, contracting and innovation, SOTC Travel, pointing out that Indian holidaymakers have taken a fancy to luxury holidays. They seek unique experiences (beyond regular sightseeing) and prefer their holidays to be of global standards from the beginning to the end. He remarks, “SOTC’s Luxury Travel Collection - Perfect Moments is an endeavour to keep innovating and expanding our destination markets creating perfect holiday moments for our customers. This collection has 9 glorious bouquets of luxurious holiday themes that cater and offer new and unique experiences that are beyond the expectations of a luxury traveller.”

Evolving demands The changing demands of the new age luxury traveller is redefining the trends. "The new money millennials are ready to spend a bit more to get the right experience. I am seeing some extremely well established people from mid to late 60s who want to try the experiences, but do not want to pay for it, even though they have a lot more than the millennials. It is the mindset of the generation, and I wish that changes," says Sushil Shamlal Wadhwa, founder and CMD, Platinum World Group, reminding that another trend that he is noticing is that lead times are getting shorter, whether it is MICE or luxury.

Wellness, according to Wadhwa, is another major trend within India, with properties like Atmantan Wellness Centre near Pune and Carnoustie Ayurveda & Wellness Resort in Kerala making a mark. “In the luxury segment the Oberoi

THE MAIN FOCUS

properties, Aman properties in Rajasthan and the boutique hotel Suryagarh near Jaisalmer give the quintessential Indian luxury experience,” adds Wadhwa.

Setting new trends are the millennials. Social media is a key driver in this space. Rajnish Sabharwal, COO, TUTC avers that tourism in India has evolved. “The new age domestic traveller does not just want to visit an Agra or a Jaipur but wants to know how different Agra is from Jaipur. The curiosity to see more, know more, and experience more is what drives the Indian domestic traveller today.” TUTC believes in bringing the beauty of unseen nature and many adventurous experiences on a luxury platform to fill in the need of discerning travellers.

Each camp celebrates the indigenous culture and traditions, unique fairs and festivals. “Our Kohima Camp in Nagaland is planned around the Hornbill Festival, an annual melange of cultural displays from all 16 tribes of Nagaland, showcasing their rich heritage in this colourful pageant. The idea of glamping in the midst of tribal festivities is one of its kind in India and certainly piquing the interest of luxury travellers," says Sabharwal.

Luxury MICE is also contributing significantly to the growth. “Many destinations in India are offering unique offerings and projecting themselves as Luxury MICE destination to accommodate the growing demand for business meetings and social gatherings with an element of luxury,” states Sabharwal.

A matured traveller likes to have a mix of relaxation and exploration. “Destination selection plays an important role and depends upon many factors like the purpose of travel, the travel period (the weather has to be conducive for travel and outdoor activities). The demographics of the group also plays a very important role, for instance, if there are

“India is known throughout the world for the huge spectrum of breathtaking experiences” Karan Anand head – relationships, Cox & Kings

“High GST of 28 per cent is a dampener for luxury travel” Vikram Madhok MD, Abercrombie & Kent India

“Luxury travellers primarily seek unique experiences that enrich them emotionally and psychologically” Amod Thatte head - product, contracting and innovation, SOTC Travel

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

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“The new money millennials are ready to spend a bit more to get the right experience” Sushil Shamlal Wadhwa founder and CMD, Platinum World Group

“The idea of glamping in the midst of tribal festivities is one of its kind in India” Rajnish Sabharwal COO, TUTC

“Spirituality, wellness and experiential - these three segments significantly comprise Indian travel” Narayana Menon CMO and co-founder, Wandertrails

24 EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD August 2017

children involved then the sightseeing tours, activities have to appeal to them. Also, the accommodation needs to be chosen accordingly,” affirms Thatte, adding that familyowned properties, capitalising on the travellers’ desire to make deep, local connections, will become an even bigger draw in the upcoming years for the new age traveller.

Unique products In the luxury tourism space the popular destinations for inbound travellers include the Golden Triangle and Kerala, along with Goa, Hampi, Rishikesh, Dharamshala and Khajuraho. “India offers a host of destinations that lend a sense of serenity and tranquillity. Our premium rejuvenation packages include authentic Ayurvedic treatments, spa and Yoga rejuvenation. Spiritual retreats at Waynad, Vythiti, Rishikesh and Jaipur are the most popular,” remarks Anand.

A few luxury getaways featured by experiential travel specialist, Wandertrails include Sarai Kothi in Kanha National Park offering jungle safaris, tribal village visits, nature walks and exotic bird watching. The luxury stays

range from a century old Ladakhi home against the backdrop of the Himalayas in Leh to a heritage property in Goa and a homestay built on stilts in Coorg. “Spirituality, wellness and experiential – these three segments significantly comprise Indian travel.

India has emerged as the world’s fastest growing wellness destination with an estimated projection of 17.2 million international tourists over the next 10 years,” states Narayana Menon, CMO and co-founder, Wandertrails.

Luxury hospitality A significant aspect of India's attraction is the unique hospitality options in luxury space – the forts and palaces.

The recently opened Alila Fort Bishangarh offers its guests much more than a luxurious stay in magical settings. The all-suite resort boasts 59 stately suites that are designed for quiet indulgence. “In a region that boasts of palace hotels, Alila Fort Bishangarh is perhaps the first warrior fort restored into a luxury resort.

With the growing trend of 'Staycations' and ‘Bleisure’ travel, guests are seeking a lot more than just stay with meals, such as opportunity to

partake in unique activities, personalised services, memorable experiences with family and friends or visit to attend an annual event. At Alila Fort Bishangarh, we offer guests experiences unique to the culture and traditions of Rajasthan," says Vijay Krishnan, GM, Alila Fort Bishangarh.

“With the concept of Alila Journeys, guests can choose from a variety of half-day or full-day excursions and activities that connect with local experiences,” states Krishnan.

The experiences range from curated journeys to the local villages and enhance community engagement with the guests to a private wildlife safari through the Sariska Tiger Reserve and National Park to a scenic 50-minute helicopter tour offering spectacular 360degree bird’s-eye views of the Fort and its surroundings. The property also offers five culinary experiences curated by celebrity Chef Ranveer Brar.

Bespoke dining experiences in fact form an integrtal part of luxury hospitality. Set amidst the exotic Himalayas, JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort & Spa, offers its guests 'Breakfast by the Stream' in a forest hideaway where the Kempty Fall originates. "The

breakfast table is set in the middle of the gushing water.

Dip your toes in the chilly water; listen to the jungle waking up all around you while you dig into a lavish spread of a traditional Indian breakfast or a selection of the finest continental preparations," says Ramandeep Marwah, GM, JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort & Spa. Another unique experience is lunch/hi-tea at the farms, where you can dine in a rustic set-up with a table overlooking the spectacular Gharwal mountains. “The menu is especially handcrafted by the chefs, based on your suggestions, using the freshest ingredients that are grown right there on the farm. Complemented with international beverages and stunning scenery, this will be a lunch you will not easily forget," mentions Marwah.

The property, with venues overlooking the Gharwal range of Himalayas, make the perfect setting for destination weddings. "Memorable weddings call for never heard of experiences for the guests. We offer bespoke meal options in the lap of nature to ensure guests leave enthralled. A specially crafted meal in iconic locations ensures a truly memorable

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THE MAIN FOCUS

“Alila Fort Bishangarh is perhaps the first warrior fort restored into a luxury resort” Vijay Krishnan GM, Alila Fort Bishangarh

wedding," adds Marwah.

Luxury hospitality is also being redefined by a city hotels like the Sofitel Mumbai BKC which takes pride in being a unique address combining the best of warm Indian hospitality with French ‘art de vivre’ in a signature art nouveau style.

"The expectation of guests today is for hotels to not only understand their needs and preferences, but anticipate them," says Biswajit Chakraborty, GM, Sofitel Mumbai BKC, adding that from providing an iPod docking station to the best sleep experience with seven-layered bed called MyBed, to seamless Wi-Fi internet connectivity for multiple devices and an entire entertainment hub, the property presents the guest with the best that there is on offer. It also offers the 5-Senses Weekend Staycation Package for a much needed tranquil break.

The property has introduced a library in its business centre. “We are giving our guests the chance to relive the traditional aura with various genres on offer at our Business Centre Book Library,” states Chakraborty, adding that the recently opened art gallery at the hotel is a tribute to the brand pillars of culture and de-

sign. New and upcoming artists are given a chance to display their work and themed brunches are planned around their art.

Green initiatives is a focus for Sofitel Mumbai BKC, and despite being in the midst of a concrete grey jungle, the hotel has started planting its own herbs at its very own Herb and Kitchen Garden. “With the help of these herbs, we are not only committing to the environment but providing our guests with healthy and fresh produce,” informs Chakraborty. The property is known for its ‘Magnifique’ food festivals that promote the gastronomy and cultural aspect of the brand - from international chefs from countries like France, Germany, Japan, Vietnam to local chefs showcasing regional cuisine like Rajasthani, Bengali, etc.

Fillip to luxury tourism There is a lot that needs to be done to promote India as a luxury tourism destination.

The recent setback to luxury tourism/hospitality has been the 28 per cent GST. "It is too high, it should have been in 18 per cent bracket. The destinations have suddenly become 10 per cent more expensive. In

the long term it won’t be good for us. We are fiercely competitive as a destination and we should learn from New York City and Paris, where there is no 28 per cent GST tax on a hotel. High GST is a dampener for luxury travel," says Madhok. He also believes that the government should make pockets of excellence in areas where currently people go.

"They should not get overly ambitious with 60-70 circuits but fix the top 10 circuits where people come to India for, before they move to the next area," he remarks.

Lack of good infrastructure remains a key handicap. Wadhwa believes that if rail transport/road transport, aviation and immigration, and tourism is integrated, India can be the biggest tourism revenue earner in the world in the next decade.

“From Jailsalmer to the North East which has many beautiful destinations, however good infrastructure is seriously lacking.

Bus stations, train stations should be upgraded aesthetically with dining, retail, clean rest rooms; also smaller airports at regional destinations where aircraft cannot fly should have heli-tourism. Vaishnodevi is a good example where helitourism is popular. It must be

also made viable for hotel industry to open up hotels,” says Wadhwa, adding that there should be convention boards and tourism boards not just for the state, but also district/cities, like many international destinations.

Inclusive growth of local communities through travel infrastructure development is integral. “The demand for luxury and experiential travel is increasing at a faster rate than what the services available are and the only way to encounter this is through enabling local stakeholders in the travel servicing process. From benefiting local businesses to popularising indigenous crafts, a complete alignment of customer satisfaction with community development is the best formula for equitable travel revenue benefit,” avers Menon.

"Apart from focusing on the infrastructure, which is the core of tourism development in India, concrete tourism campaign targeted at high-net worth tourists will also help to boost the growth of this segment," asserts Anand, remarking that India also needs to focus more on attracting greater number of visitors from nontraditional destinations and demographics.

“We offer bespoke meal options in the lap of nature” Ramandeep Marwah GM, JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort & Spa

“The expectation of guests today is for hotels to anticipate their needs and preferences” Biswajit Chakraborty GM, Sofitel Mumbai BKC

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IN FOCUS

Ancillary services and the travel agent: The opportunities ahead This paper by Amadeus, aimed at traditional travel agencies, highlights the business benefits that come from the seamless booking of additional flight-related services (also called ‘ancillary services’)

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any airlines have adapted their business model to factor in ancillary services, and travellers’ expectations have changed as a result. Agents need to be specialist retailers, with detailed knowledge of the market and an insight into individual travellers. They also need access to the widest range of content at a competitive price.

The emergence of ancillary services Since the start of the current global economic slowdown in 2008, airline profitability has been impacted by a number of factors. Traditional premium traffic has fallen by around 10 per cent while economy is up seven per cent. Overall, 4.2 per cent more people will fly in 2012 than in 2011, with economy traffic taking an increasingly high proportion.

Airlines are keeping a tight control on costs at the same time as trying to maximise their revenue per passenger. In the US, average fares on domestic and international flights have started to recover over the past few years, but are still 16 per cent lower - in real terms – than 1995. Yields remain under pressure however. IATA says that some airlines are increasing volumes at the expense of yields.

Ancillary revenues are a key part of many airlines’ business models. In established markets such as North America and Europe, some carriers such as Spirit, Allegiance and Ryanair are seeing ancillary revenues

26 EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD August 2017

account for more than 20 per cent of total revenues. The trend has spread to Asia Pacific, with Air Asia and Tiger Airways also seeing around one fifth of total revenues from ancillary services. The trend is set to continue. Looking ahead, 83 per cent of airlines plan to sell ancillary services direct to the consumer via mobile. PhoCusWright found that 23 per cent of leisure travellers and one-third of business travellers access the web via their phones every day. The net result is that ancillary services are here to stay. Passengers have embraced this change, and are willing to pay for services which add value to their experience. For example, seat upgrades are popular with passengers in a number of key markets. Passengers are also interested in using new technologies to book their exit seat.

Agents need to find a way not only to book these services –

and more – for their clients but also to make sure it is worth their while to do so.

What exactly are we talking about?

IdeaWorks, the foremost consultancy focused on airline ancillary revenues, first defined ancillary revenue in 2008.

Since then, the traditional airline industry has changed its attitude towards ancillary revenues, at the same time as traveller expectations have shifted.

In 2011, IdeaWorks updated the definition, which is accepted as the global standard by airlines.

Ancillary revenue is defined as revenue beyond the sale of tickets that is generated by direct sales to passengers, or indirectly as a part of the travel experience.

Within this, four different types of ancillary revenues are identified as: “À la carte” features amenities consumers can add

to their air travel experience, such as: ● on-board sales of food and beverages; ● checking of baggage and excess baggage; ● assigned seats or better seats such as exit rows; ● priority check-in and screening; ● early boarding benefits; ● on-board entertainment systems; ● wireless internet access.

Commission-based products: Ancillary revenue activities also include the commissions earned by airlines on the sale of hotel accommodations, car rentals and travel insurance. The commission-based category primarily involves the airline’s website, but it can include the sale of duty-free and consumer products on-board aircraft.

Frequent flier programmes the frequent flier category largely consists of the sale of

miles or points to programme partners such as hotel chains and car rental companies, cobranded credit cards, online malls, retailers, and communication services. Sales of miles or points made directly to programme members also qualify.

Advertising sold by the airline - this is a newer category and includes any advertising initiative linked to passenger travel.

The following are typical activities: ● revenue generated from the in-flight magazine; ● advertising messages sold in or on the aircraft, loading bridges, gate areas, and airport lounges; ● fee-based placement of consumer products and samples.

IdeaWorks research found, ancillary services generated revenue activity of €15.11 billion (US$ 21.46 billion) in 2010; 38 per cent more than in 2009 and 96 per cent more than 2008.

Most of the revenues fall under the “à la carte definition” above, and this is the area where agents can play an essential role in personalising their customers’ service.

What airlines and travellers are currently thinking Spirit Airlines in the US is one of the industry’s most successful ancillary retailers. In 2010 it started charging for hand luggage in the cabin.

Some people saw this as a step too far, but it did not deter passengers. The airline flew 24.5 per cent more people in the 12-

IN FOCUS month period following the introduction of the carry-on fee and saw a US$ 50m annual increase in revenue as a result.

Spirit said that customers embrace unbundling in exchange for low air fares and more choice. As noted, customers are learning to change their behaviour as a result – fees imposed by airlines for checking in at the desk can be avoided by passengers who check in online. Airlines say that this also keeps their airports costs down, which in turn helps to keep fares low. IdeaWorks also points out that baggage service has improved by around 50 per cent since baggage fees became standard practice for US airlines in 2007/8. Ideaworks argues that when passengers are paying they expect a better service, which airlines deliver in return for the revenues.

In-flight catering is another example of how airlines are taking advantage of customers’ changing expectations. Air Berlin now offers a comprehensive range of in-flight meals to passengers and is using it as a way to differentiate itself in the competitive European market.

Over the years, in-flight catering has changed from a cost to the airlines to a revenue stream. In the early days of aviation, food was part of the ticket whether the customer wanted it or not. Airlines then focused on selling only snacks on board before finding a way to generate revenues by providing an inflight option which passengers are willing to pay for.

The Air Berlin example shows how ancillary services are evolving, and how the approach varies between airline and markets. The industry appears to have won the consumer argument with clear communication, choice and most importantly, keeping the fares low with the possibility of personalisation.

Why ancillary services should be of interest to the travel agency The global economic climate, growth of online travel agencies and changing booking patterns have put traditional travel agencies under financial

pressure. Travel agents’ skill lies in creating trips for business and/or holidays that meet the travellers’ requirements.

Selling ancillary services sits easily with both, tailoring the experience and adding value.

This means that by actively selling ancillary services you would:

1. Reinforce customer service Booking ancillary services is key to high standards of customer service. If travellers are offered in-flight entertainment or additional leg room when booking, the agent generates more customer satisfaction by providing a personalised service. A direct result of providing great customer service is customer loyalty and retention.

McKinsey & Co research found that a loyal customer spends more, is less price-sensitive and will promote your business to others.

2. Maintain the competitive edge In a fiercely competitive environment, travel agencies already offering customers ancillary bookings can gain the edge by increasing the range of services they provide. Importantly, agents offering ancillary services can compete effectively with airlines’ own websites and online channels.

Agents should be aware that if you don’t book “à la carte” services, the customer could go the airline’s site and do it themselves. You could lose more than just goodwill if they end up booking their extra requirements through the airline’s own website, as they could also be booking their hotel and car hire. Aside from that,

chances are next time the customer will go direct and is lost to the agent for ever. Ancillary services provision comes into its own on complex itineraries, using multiple carriers, where policies and fees differ. Handling multi-leg trips reinforces the travel agents’ role as travel consultant. Corporate agreements that business travel agencies have with airlines could evolve in the future to include ancillary services. A business travel agency might want to offer customised ‘packages’ for a particular corporation – such as selected seating so that the traveller can get off of the plane quickly, or in-flight WiFi access so that he/she can continue work whilst travelling.

Using ancillary services to differentiate is an option now open to agents. A leisure travel agency might want to offer families a service including options such as sitting together or combined luggage allowances.

3. Be transparent Customers know what they want and increasingly also know where to get it. Agents must be as informed as their customers, be able to access as much if not more content and then sell the service to the customer. Competing on service is easier than competing on price.

“We’ve taken the route of booking ancillaries directly through the Amadeus GDS because for us service is a must -we need to offer the whole package. I don’t think it’s a good idea to direct passengers to an airline’s website to book ancillaries.

If you’re a traveller and you call a travel agency, you expect good customer service,” says Michael Below Trabandt, senior project manager products & projects,

Carlson Wagonlit Denmark.

Travel,

So what can travel agencies do now?

If you are a travel agent and are not already pro-actively selling ancillary services, you should start doing so in order to reinforce your customer service proposition and provide travellers with the transparency they require from you, the travel expert, to maintain the competitive edge. In markets such as the US and Europe, where ancillaries are established, there is still significant growth to come. Atmosphere Research Group found that in the UK, US, Brazilian and Chinese markets around half of passengers are paying for checked in bags, indicating a significant growth potential for airlines and agents. Accessing, booking and changing the airlines’ ancillary services directly from your front-office system will allow you to also become much more efficient, allowing you to save time and therefore costs.

Amadeus recognizes the need for travel agents to be able to access this content in a streamlined way. With comparable content to that of an airline’s own website, Amadeus allows you to offer a competitive and comprehensive range of optional and additional “à la carte” services to your customers, processed in a uniform way, whatever the airline. A unique dynamic catalogue aggregated into your single point-of-sale provides a customised and professional sales tool, allowing you to retain your customers by offering a onestop travel solution, reinforcing your role as travel consultant.

Amadeus is leading the way

in offering you the first intuitive catalogue of services integrated into a professional selling interface, allowing you to easily browse and sell airlines’ ancillary services as value-added items on top of the base fare. You can also reduce time which is wasted unnecessarily when navigating through different airline websites, each with its own procedures. Ancillary services offered via Amadeus are seamlessly integrated into existing pricing and booking flows, with all relevant data fed to your midand back-office systems via the Amadeus Interface Record.

In summary The unbundling of flight-related services is not going away.

By offering customers ancillary services now, travel agencies demonstrate their value by fulfilling a consultancy role, helping customers break down the total cost of travel and providing a complete service.

Maintaining customer satisfaction is vital. The added value brought about by offering ancillary services at the booking phase reinforces customer service, which in turn boosts loyalty and positively enhances reputation. Ancillary services are now integrated seamlessly with agencies’ existing interface thanks to the Amadeus Selling Platform. Agents do not have to leave the booking flow to go to an airline’s website, then return to the booking. And by saving time, agents can focus attention on other tasks.

Content availability through Amadeus Selling Platform will grow richer as more airlines add their ancillaries to the Amadeus Global Distribution System (GDS). And more content means a better service.

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August 2017

DESTINATION OUTBOUND

MAGNIFICENCE ON THE NEVA RIVER..

From canals to cathedrals, bridges to ballets and vintage walks to the vodka museum, Saint Petersburg is undoubtedly one of the most charming cities of Russia and a photographer's delight on the Baltic.

It also offers guests, nature's unique show, the White Nights

By Reema Lokesh

28 EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD August 2017

stately appeal. The St Issac's square also plays host to another interesting equestrian statue, that of Emperor Nicholas I, which stands in front of St Isaac's Cathedral.

It is marvelled for its innovative design and balance.

Museums and music A city is best experienced on foot, St Petersburg being no exception. You will not do justice to the city if in a rush.

The beauty of the city needs to be felt and not just seen. There are interesting self guided tours which you can pick and choose. A walk along the St Isaac's square, which also plays host to one of the finest luxury hotels in the city, provides you with a visual treat of both nature and architecture.

The walk along the water front certainly has a calming effect. For those who are absolute lovers of art, artifacts and more, The State Hermitage Museum, is a masterpiece in itself. The wide and broad square in the area to the Winter Palace and other buildings one can take few days just to explore the intricacies of art. For those who are short on time but would still like to enjoy a visual treat of some stately art and intricate artifacts, the Faberge Museum is an interesting bet. The museum houses some classic curios of the past, laden with

jewels and semi precious stones.

From the grand to the miniature, the Grand Maket Interactive Museum, (that houses all of Russia in miniature,) is worth a stopover on either your way in or out of the airport. Another interesting trip, which is recommended is to Peterhof Palace, which is also famously called the Russian Versailles - a grand region of widespread gardens and palaces. One can reach there by land or sea, from St Petersburg main city. The palace reflects the richness and opulence of the past and narrates stories of the legends as one walks through the

Images by Reema Lokesh

“W

elcome to St Petersburg, also known as the Venice of the North and the second largest city of Russia after Moscow," said our host Prashant Choudhary, MD, Salvia Promoters, who is keen to showcase this region on the Baltic to discerning Indian travellers. We were there to experience nature's phenomenon, the magical ‘White Nights', peculiar only to that part of the globe, which is north of the Arctic circle, during the summer months.

St Petersburg is located in northwest Russia on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, with well defined inland water ways. Geo-politically well placed, St Petersburg is steeped in history. The city speaks to you of its glorious past through its museums and monuments, of men and women who reigned and led with grit and glory.

The iconic bronze horseman statue on cut rock, in honour of the region's primary architect, Peter the Great, serves as one of the most photographed structures, along with the famous St Isaac's Cathedral, in the same periphery. The golden dome of the Cathedral adorns the city's skyline, giving it its much

DESTINATION OUTBOUND various chambers in the palace. The palace leads you to the shore of the wide and picturesque Baltic Sea. For travellers who are not just seeking solace and stories of history, the Nevsky Prospekt, is your place to be. The action packed main street reflects the modern day Russian world, from street food, music, signature buildings like the Singer building and the Kazan Cathedral (dedicated to Our Lady of Kazan) is worth a visit. However, close to the Nevsky Prospekt, it is the Church of the Spilled Blood with its bright dome structures that just cannot be ignored. If time permits, stop by at the Katyusha restaurant for some authentic Russian cuisine experience.

Located on Ostrovsky Square, a few dozen yards from Nevsky Prospekt, one can stop for a bit to view a monument dedicated to Russia's Empress Catherine.

Hence, it is not wrong to reaffirm here, that this city of Russia, is truly a treat for the

lovers of art, music, theatre and more.

For the lovers of music, ballets, theatre and opera, St Petersburg, will never let you down. The Mariinsky Theatre (one of the world's most famous musical theatres in St Petersburg, and one of the oldest in Russia ) is the place to be. The Ballet Palace theatre is worth an experience. Watching the ballet Swan Lake in this theatre is worth your time.

Of cruises, canals and vodka However, the natural beauty of the city rests effortlessly on its canals and rivers.

The water world gives the city its charm and character. A canal or river cruise in the city is a definite on the to do list.

Make the effort to witness the late night splitting of the bridges, which is in itself a visual treat. During the navigation season which commences from April to November, drawbridges (movable bridges that

let ships pass through) of St Petersburg are opened for a few hours during the night.

You can enjoy this splendour entirely on a cruise boat on the Neva river or by just a casual walk along the embankments during the scheduled time.

However, check the timings of the opening of the various bridges and plan your night out accordingly. St Petersburg's waters also play host to some interesting boat parties and cruise parties. The historic and well lit grand monuments add to the city's night panoramic charm.

But, one thing that is ingrained in the very culture and soul of Russia is the story of vodka. A visit to the Russian Vodka Museum, (unique to this region), will highlight the fact that for the Russians, vodka is not just the drink. It is part of their history and hospitality.

St Petersburg, is all

set to welcome the Indian traveller, be it for leisure or for MICE. The Runwals from Mumbai have already marked their attendance in the city as

they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary there.

Remember to carry with you your share of the Russian rouble, as the Russians are proud of all that is Russian...

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August 2017

OPINION

Total revamp needed to boost Indian inbound tourism

By Om Prakash

M

inistry of Tourism and travel trade associations have been working on this subject ever since our independence 70 years ago. However there is not much done, for which India can boast. India’s inbound tourism has been crawling at such a slow speed that in 70 years of existence of Ministry of Tourism at Central Government and supported by all state tourism ministries. India’s annual inbound arrivals are around five to six million tourists. There are many smaller countries, which can boast of much higher inbound tourists than India. A small European country like France has achieved 80 million tourists annually. Any comparison with India inbound?

Absolutely no!

Our such poor performance compels us to think in a broader prospective as to what are the detrimental factors which are blocking our way to increase inbound tourism such as:

Infrastructure Inspite of continuous efforts our infrastructure has not improved; it cannot be compared even with neighbouring countries like Dubai, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and China.

Beyond our metro cities, the facilities are not up to the mark.

Is India competitive?

Indian inbound tourist budget is much higher than our neighbouring countries, which make India an expensive destination. The hotels and transportation costs are higher. To increase inbound traffic, India has to compete with neighbouring countries.

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GST will create a negative impact It is being announced that the implementation of GST will further hike the inbound cost. This will have a negative impact on the inbound arrivals. The travel industry has already sounded about this in advance. We cannot understand the logic of our tourism ministry which should enlarge the base by reducing taxation and multiply inbound tourism, thereby collecting higher tax revenue in total. Instead, our tourism ministry has chosen to put extra pressure on the existing ailing tourism industry which may increase a bit extra per tourist but overall will not broad-base the revenue.

Foreign exchange earning industry The Ministry of Tourism should take into account that due to tremendous scope and

Om Prakash

potential, inbound tourism can become a major contributor to increase our foreign exchange reserves. Such benefits can be passed on to many other industries in India.

Can the tourism ministry accept a challenge that their

aim should be to achieve 20 million inbound tourists in a time bound manner? Can they not calculate, how much revenue can India generate? Can they not calculate as to how much benefits can be achieved in terms of revenues from hotels, transportation, shopping and domestic travel? Similarly a massive jump in the employment can be achieved.

Inbound tourism is a smokeless industry thereby increase in its numbers will not create any pollution. However the increase in volume can create massive opportunities for urban and rural employment. We should not underestimate that travel and tourism industry is ranked as third largest employment generating industry.

GDP The latest news is the fall in GDP. By increasing the inbound tourism and by all

above contributing factors, India’s GDP can increase substantially.

Reports show that other countries are attracting higher number of Indian visitors: 1. Ras AL Khaimah (UAE) to attract India’s MICE tourism 2. Visitors from India to Emirate grew by 35 per cent while no of nights by Indians grew to 49.4 per cent 3. Mauritius records 15 per cent growth in Indian arrivals 4. Las Vegas eyeing VFR travellers from India 5. IndiGo adds Doha as its 7th international destination 6. Israel records 49 per cent increase in Indian travellers 7. Jordon announces India arrival figures: unprecedented growth of 18.40 per cent.

If all other countries are increasing their share of Indian inbound travellers, can India claim its great jump in inbound from all countries put together? Inbound tourism needs a total revamp to improve infrastructure, encourage hospitality segments by lower taxation, create more international type of entertainment projects. Every tourist should become our “ambassador” to promote more tourists to India. This cannot be possible unless a complete revamp takes place.

Let our experts in government and the travel and hospitality industries make a joint body to compare our policies with other successful countries and implement their recommendations by which India can be proud of its inbound tourism figures.

Om Prakash, former chairman TAAI (WR), and director InOrbit Tours

SPOTLIGHT

'WE WANTTO BE THE WORLD'S LARGEST DESTINATION MANAGEMENTCOMPANY' With a vision to be world leader in destination management, bundled with stronng technology and distribution channel, Red Apple Travel is clear and bullish on its business and future strategies. In an exclusive interaction with Reema Lokesh, Suneet Goenka, group managing director, Red Apple Travel, shares the company's growth story and the way ahead What has been Red Apple's journey, from its inception until now?

I come from an entrepreneaurial background. We started off in Myanmar. I had just graduated and I wanted to do tourism. Being from a new generation then, and with my understanding of business potential in tourism industry, I set my mind onto it. The only travel business we had then was my father's GSA office (Bandoola Travel) for Air India (erstwhile Indian Airlines) in Myanmar. We were the largest business house in Myanmar. Soon I realised that inbound business has potential to fetch money, and we set up a small DMC and started doing inbound tourism business.

Our India operations started with a small office in South Mumbai. When we entered the India market, SOTC and Cox & Kings were the only customers we had, but as our business grew, we were exposed to smaller cities. My wife and I walked through the streets, meeting travel agents and constantly strived to bring the business to new heights. In about one and a half years, we had around 2,500 active partners working with us. Once our distribution was set, we realised that we have the customer base, we know how to set up a DMC, so now let's go to a new level; then we entered the Malaysian market, after which our company has been witnessing continuous growth.

What, in your opinion, is the problem for the Indian travel industry?

The Indian travel business is very fragmented and the buying patterns are diverse, which makes it difficult since there's no mass consolidation at any level.

Product knowledge is rather faint coupled with the lack of buying power. Small travel companies, do not have volumes, hence they fail to buy buy right.

in East Africa and we will push our efforts in West Africa slowly and steadily.

Suneet Goenka

According to you, what would be the solution to these problems?

The first thing is product specialisation – travel agents and tour operators should focus only on products they are good at. They are required to create their niche and choose a model of distribution. It's about knowing what you want to do, choosing your niche, having your business model right and working towards it. Today business is not about profit for many companies; it's about the topline or the bottomline and having a bottomline in place is very critical.

What are Red Apple's plans for the next five years?

We want to be the world's largest destination management company. We are very focused on getting our footprint globally; we are currently present across Asia, Australia and Europe and we want to start penetrating into China, Vietnam and

Cambodia. Africa is where we have started entering, from sales perspective. The next five years will see a lot of advancement in technology; we are investing extensively in technology, destination offices and destination network. There's a huge market share coming from Japan, GCC and South East Asia. We have opened about four sales offices in Africa, wherein Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and South Africa are strong markets for us.

Tourism is the most volatile business. A small political disturbance or a natural calamity can destroy the market. Hence, obviously we want to expand our market share in regions other than Indian subcontinent. South East Asia is well-settled; however Africa is a very interesting market – small, but evolving. It is also a fragmented market, competition is lower and it is a cash-and-carry market.

We are extensively working

What are your plans for South America?

We have an office in Spain, which services Latin America. We have an entire Spanish team that handles the outbound business. It is important to understand that Latin Americans buy extensively from Spain. We handle a lot of Latin American business, but through Spain. In the next two years, we will be investing extensively in the Latin American markets. Inbound business to Latin America is something we will also be looking at in the next two years. Our global head office is in Dubai. We have back office functions happening in three locations – Dubai, Egypt and Indonesia – and the regional offices are purely contracting servicing offices. In Latin America too, we will have a contracting and servicing team.

Where does India stand in the company's plan?

India is our home territory, which contributes 55 per cent of our revenue. Currently, we are looking at penetrating in smaller pockets of the country. Until now we were happy working with our core partners and the customer base that we have, but the next step is to penetrate into smaller cities such as Indore, Coimbatore, Madurai and more, where we are looking at setting up

our distribution channels.

We want launch our product lines for the India market, known as 'Good Earth', next year. Good Earth is fixed departures to destinations that are not sold by Indian operators. A lot of travel companies don't want to risk their money on products like these.

How crucial is demography when you plan your business?

Our business is completely based on demography. Before we get into any market or product, there's intense market research; we understand the customer profile, customer age groups, the markets they come from, their preferences and various other factors.

What's your future outlook in terms of turnover?

For the 2017-2018 fiscal we are looking at a turnover of US$ 110 to US$ 115 million.

What is Red Apple's roadmap for 2018?

Myanmar is an important location we are looking at for business, due to its popularity among a large part of our customer base. We are expecting very good business in China this year. We expect an increase of at least 25 per cent. We are also launching our new product, 'Hidden Door', next year, which includes group tours with children.

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TECH TALK

'SPACE TOURISTS AND NASAASTRONAUTS BOTH REQUIRE SIMILAR SERVICES' A space hotel design by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently won a prestigious NASA graduate design competition. MIT's Managed, Reconfigurable, In-space Nodal Assembly (MARINA) project was designed as a commercially owned and operated space station, featuring a luxury hotel. Mathhew Moraguez and George C Lordos of MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and member of the Strategic Engineering Research Group explain the design concept and how the whole experience will resemble that of a luxury yacht charter holiday exploring space

By Sudipta Dev What are the key aspects of your space hotel design that attributed in winning the prestigious competition by NASA ?

We feel that one key benefit of our proposal for NASA is technology development at reduced and shared costs. The cost reduction comes from our engineering design which emphasises modularity, standardisation of interfaces and open access to companies of all sizes to provide all kinds of products and services on MARINA. The cost sharing arises because NASA can rent only a small part of the MARINA station, fly astronauts there and perform experiments to develop technology needed for the journey to Mars. The concept works well because the space tourists and NASA astronauts both require similar services while in orbit, i.e. life support, food, gym, etc. These capabilities would be improved over time and would help enable the journey to Mars.

What is the commercial viability of your design, particularly with so much talk going on, and investment being made in space tourism initiatives ?

MARINA’s space hotel provides the revenue needed to sustain the station and allow NASA to rent space on the

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commercial station for lower cost. NASA would do so at reduced cost compared to current International Space Station (ISS) operations because a commercial operator would be running the MARINA station and receive significant revenue from the space hotel as a profitable commercial enterprise.

MARINA would be commercially owned, self-funded and operated for-profit. The price for holidays at MARINA is a critical decision which depends on many variables and will be determined closer to the time by the operator. However, our models and simulations showed that the price could initially be approximately US$ 5m and not more than US$ 10m per person for a two week holiday, including transportation and accommodation. Our research and modeling work has shown that there can be sufficient demand around these price points. The holiday price would fall over time as the cost of access to space comes down as a result of reusable rockets and competition among commercial providers.

NASA currently spends US$ 3.5 billion per year to support the ISS. Our modeling showed that MARINA would only cost NASA about US$ 360m per year in rent and other fees payable to MARINA’s commercial owner and operator,

TECH TALK

meaning that NASA could save 16 percent of its human spaceflight budget and use these savings to fund its journey to Mars.

What are the most interesting features of the luxury space hotel ?

The fact that all guest rooms will have identical shape, size and Earth views yet each room will be individually decorated to resemble the Captain’s Cabin from famous 18th-, 19th- and early 20th century ships of exploration of the Earth’s poles.

The doors of the guest rooms open to a common space, where guests can drink, dine and mingle with NASA astronauts around a striking, Earth-facing cupola window. The whole experience will resemble that of a luxury yacht charter holiday mixed with participation in the exploration of the last frontier facing humanity.

How is it different from a typical luxury hotel on earth in terms of comfort and facilities ?

The main difference is the small size and the micro-

gravity environment. The small size makes MARINA’s space hotel more comparable to the experience of staying in a luxury boutique hotel on Earth.

The microgravity environment means that designers will have to come up with new, more comfortable solutions to support basic human functions such as eating, sleeping, recreation, bathing and use of WC. Other than that, the ratio of one staff to four guests will assure the delivery of high quality service, in keeping with the luxury design.

By when do you foresee a luxury hotel in space actually become a reality ? How will it enhance the space tourism experience ?

If a decision to go ahead were to be made today, MARINA and its space hotel could be operational by the mid 2020’s, in time to replace the ISS which is due to be retired around then.

Do you believe that private companies who are investing billions in space tourism

projects should also include space hotel in their offering ? Can your space hotel design be customised in the future ?

As the cost of access to space continues to fall thanks to the advent of reusable rockets, the development of new human-rated spacecraft and the increasing competition

among launch providers, space tourism has every chance to be about a lot more than a half-hour thrill ride to the edge of space and back.

The space hotel internal design is of course fully open to customisation by the investor / developer, according to their business plan and market research.

Any other interesting factor regarding space holidays ?

Orbital space holidays and even holidays on the surface of the Moon will both enable and be enabled by the increased number of human flights into space. The substantial revenue from orbital and lunar space tourism will in turn accelerate technology development.

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RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

Kayaking for a cause Clean Rivers Initiative (CRI) promotes the usage of our rivers for recreation and creates a connection to the river with youngsters and tourists. The forthcoming Chaliyar River Challenge 2017 is the third annual event to help raise both awareness and funding to clean up rivers in the country. By Steena Joy

C

lean Rivers Initiative (CRI) is the dream of three men for whom the river is close to the heart. While Kaushiq Kodithodi is the owner of Jellyfish, the watersports centre that hosts the Chaliyar River Challenge, Kaustubh Khade is a kayaker who's single handedly kayaked the whole west coast of India and has won Asian Silver medals for the country. Brijesh Shaijal is an accomplished architect and former head of the architects group in Kerala. And all three are looking forward to The Chaliyar River Challenge, one of the initiatives of CRI. To be held this year from September 22 – 24, it is a 70 km river kayaking expedition which will start from Nilambur, located on the foothills of Western Ghats and in close proximity to Nilgiris and will end at Beypore in Kozhikode district, where the river meets with the Arabian Sea. The three day adventure, a "leave no trace" camping concept offers opportunities at various levels from beginners, non swimmers to well established water sports enthusiasts. Leave No Trace refers to a set of outdoor ethics promoting conservation in the outdoors. It is built on seven principles: Plan ahead and prepare, travel and camp on durable surfaces, dispose of waste properly, leave what you find, minimise campfire impacts, respect wildlife and be considerate of other visitors.

Speaking on the the inspiration behind this venture, Khade, trustee of Chaliyar River Challenge says, “CRI is a call to action. We started it as three people who took our waters

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seriously. All three of us are kayakers from different fields of life who want to promote the conservation of our waters through water sports. But now it's open to everyone. Anyone who aligns with our goals.

Kaushiq and Brijesh have grown up near the rivers and me by the sea. We each had a natural inclination to water and the more we got out (river, lakes or the sea), the more we realised that people need to preserve nature.”

He adds, “The Chaliyar River

Challenge will take three days to complete. You surrender yourself to the river and it's three of the most blissful days you'll spend this year. We call it a challenge because while it's a beginner grade event, 70 km is quite a lot to cover. That being said, amidst the conversations, the beauty and the lovely home cooked food, you won't know when you finish the trip.”

The event will include camping, bonfire, team activities and healthy tummy authentic Kerala

delicacies. On the riverbank at Marina Convention Centre in Kozhikode at the end of the challenge, the organisers will host an outdoor music concert. For those on the water for the first time, kayak lessons will be offered on the first day to prepare you for the adventure. Stand up paddlers are also invited to join the SUP contingent. Each participant will be given a one person tent at check in. The team leaders will be around to help out new comers to the world of

outdoor activities. The tents will have eco-toilet which is ideal combination of comfort and functionality to accommodate full facilities for everyone who refuses to compromise on comfort and hygiene.

On future plans for CRI, Khade informs, “We work with various events through the year that are water related. Either directly or through Jellyfish. We want to open up events across Kerala and India that will result in a greater love for our waters.

Only when we use the waters, will people be compelled to clean up our environment. Or they will fester in neglect.”

Commenting on involvement of the travel agent community to promote its events, Khade says, “We haven't reached out to the travel agent community yet, but we are very open to the idea. So far we have enjoyed a great response. In our first year we had 20 paddlers but we have grown more than two times that in the last year. This year we are going to expand to 100 paddlers and we are looking at all channels to take this opportunity to the public.”

Chaliyar was earlier a polluted river from the effluents of nearby factory that destroyed the marine life and caused cancer in the local villagers. The Chaliyar Action Committee fought for the cause of river with the support of villagers which resulted in the closure of the factory. Since then the river has come a long way to regain its original beauty and now the organisation of programmes like Kayak for a Cause is helping in creating more awareness about the conservation of rivers.

MOVEMENTS Cleartrip Cleartrip has recently announced the appointment of INDRONEEL DUTT and ANKIT RASTOGI as its chief financial officer and vice president of hotels, respectively.

Dutt will be based in Mumbai and will focus on optimising cost efficiencies and revenue streams for more resilient operations, while Rastogi will spearhead the company's hotelbased business out of Bengaluru with a view of creating a more robust foundation of its core business. The recent highprofile appointments by Cleartrip are in sync with its longterm growth strategy of pushing for the next phase of its growth by bolstering its leadership team with industry veterans.

2007 and has successfully established the organisation office in Jakarta in 2011. Holding a major in tourism, Kwon has been associated with Korea Tourism Organization for 25 years. He is also a certified public labor attorney in Korea.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has appointed DAVID TODD as its new senior director for new hotels in IMEA. Todd previously worked for IHG, both at the corporate office and at the company’s hotels in the Middle East. Prior to rejoining IHG, he served as vice president, operations – MEA at

Korea Tourism Board Korea Tourism Board has recently announced the appointment of MICHEAL KWON as the new director of Korea Tourism Board – India. He will be heading the India office for next three years. Previously the director of International Tourism Strategy team at Korea Tourism Organization head office, Kwon has all-round exposure across different verticals of Korea Tourism Organization like human resources, planning and co-ordination, inbound marketing and performance evaluation.

He was the deputy director of Korea Tourism Organization's Chicago office between 2005 and

Sabre Hospitality Solutions

Brian Ruben Pedersen

ior executive positions in Maersk, Pedersen’s most recent position was as CFO for Maersk Global Shared Services in Mumbai, India. He has over 22 years of experience working in various financial and managerial roles and has gained substantial international exposure from working in a variety of countries including Hong Kong, Pakistan, Indonesia, Singapore, and Brazil.

Lords Hotels & Resorts

David Todd

Millennium Hotels & Resorts.

Based in Dubai, Todd will streamline and accelerate IHG’s new hotel opening process acting as a centre of excellence for the IMEA region.

He will collaborate with various functions across the corporate offices in Dubai and Delhi as well as build on existing and new relationships with IHG's owners and business partners to achieve successful hotel openings across the region.

Lords Hotels & Resorts has appointed ANUJ SRIVASTAV as its new assistant marketing manager. An experienced professional in research and business development and account management, Srivastav will help the group in identifying business opportunities and ideating marketing strategies for topline growth. His active responsibilities include maintaining social media presence and online marketing and

CLINTON ANDERSON has been appointed as the president of Sabre Hospitality Solutions. Anderson will succeed Alex Alt who has accepted an executive position at another company. Anderson joined Sabre in 2014, and he currently serves as senior vice president of strategy where he has been instrumental in key product, technology, business and investment strategy initiatives.

Prior to joining Sabre, he cofounded Emerson/Anderson, a private investment fund focused on small cap businesses. He was also a partner at Bain and Company where he served as a leader

streamlining all forms of communications in line with the brand ethos. With proficiency and experience in branding solutions and research and analysis, Srivastav has diversified experienced in marketing and communications.

The Westin, Hyderabad ROHIT DAR has been appointed as the new general manager at The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace. Prior to joining The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace, he was the general manager at Jaipur Marriott Hotel.

With a strong record, Dar brings

Nordic Aviation Capital

Micheal Kwon

Nordic Aviation Capital, one of world's largest regional aircraft leasing and trading companies, has appointed BRIAN RUBEN PEDERSEN as chief financial officer. Having held several sen-

Anuj Srivastav

Rohit Dar

of consumer products and performance improvement practices and led consulting engagements across many industries to drive profitable growth, operational efficiency and strategic differentiation.

over two decades of experience in the hospitality industry, having worked at properties like The Oberoi in Mumbai and New Delhi, The Oberoi Rajvilas, Oakwood Premier Prestige Bangalore and The Trident Kochi. Under his leadership, Jaipur Marriott and Oakwood Premier Prestige Bangalore displayed significant growth in sales. He was recently awarded the 2016 General Manager Award for his sales leadership.

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts recently announced the appointment of OLIVER BONKE as president and chief operating officer. Reporting to Shangri-La Asia chief executive officer Lim Beng Chee, Bonke will assume responsibilities on September 1, 2017 and will be based at Shangri-La’s headquarters in Hong Kong. In his capacity, Bonke will oversee the group’s executive vice presidents based in Asia, mainland China and the Middle East, as well as the operational division heads of food and beverage, sales, marketing, rooms, engineering, security, and quality improvement.

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EXPANSION SPREE Baharvand BenetkovĂĄ, head of consular and visa section, Embassy of the Czech Republic (left) and Milan Hovorka, ambassador of the Czech Republic to India, inaugurating the Czech Republic visa application centre operated by VFS Global in Gurugram

SWEETER FRANCE SOL trips, a boutique travel company and Le Cordon Bleu Paris, renowned culinary and hospitality institute, in collaboration with Atout France – France Tourism Development Agency, recently hosted a high-tea in Mumbai to acquaint attendees with the Patisserie Workshop at Le Cordon Bleu (LCB) in Paris

MICE FOCUS Israel Ministry of Tourism recently conducted a familiarisation

A NEW ADDRESS Destination and event management company Tamarind

trip for MICE specialist agents in India

Global recently organised a party at its new office in Lower Parel, Mumbai

CANADA DAY The Consulate General of Canada, Mumbai hosted a dinner

GLOBAL TRAINING SriLankan Airlines and the SriLankan Aviation College

reception at the Trident Mumbai to celebrate Canada Day and Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation

recently hosted annual training-oriented event, the IATA Global Training Partner Conference 2017 in Colombo for the first time

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INFLUENCING CHANGE GVK Mumbai International Airport observed World Hepatitis Day 2017 by organising a free check-up camp, a part of its CSR initiative

COMBINING CULTURES Seychelles Tourist Office India recently conducted a travel trade seminar in Seychelles

ROYAL HOST Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort, Greater Noida, recently hosted the Amir of the state of Kuwait, HH Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

CUISINE AND COUTURE Sofitel Mumbai BKC recently hosted an exclusive

AUSTRALIAN FLAIR Recreating Melbourne’s food and wine culture in India,

INVESTOR RELATIONS The Indian Hotels Company has won the

Visit Victoria and Melburnian chef and restaurateur Scott Pickett hosted exclusive gastronomic experiences in Mumbai and Delhi

‘Best All India Investor Relations Award 2017’ in the category of large-cap companies at the recently held Investor Relations Awards in Mumbai

fashion Sunday brunch in association with designer label Karleo

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REGD.WITH RNI NO. MAHENG/2005/15993,POSTAL REGD. NO. MCS/163/2016 – 18,PUBLISHED ON 11TH EVERY MONTH, POSTED ON 12TH,13TH,14TH OF EVERY MONTH, POSTED AT MUMBAI PATRIKA CHANNEL SORTING OFFICE,MUMBAI – 400001.